No Faete But What We Make
by rainbowwriters
Summary: This is the 4th installment in our 'Fae' AU series. Set directly following the events in Faery Tale, the series continues as Bo has to deal with both the sins of the past and the desires of the present.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faery Tale", the fourth story in an AU plot line.

Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)

**No Faete But What We Make: Part One**

**By: The Rainbowwriters**

Kenzi watched in silence from her hospital bed as Trick went about a clearly new ritual that the current state at the Dal had imposed upon him. Silently he wiped at the thin layer of dust that had accumulated on the bar top over the last twenty four hours, doing his best to not touch any of the stools or other furniture that would make more noise that necessary. If he had actually glanced over towards the large medical bed that still took up a lot of the central setting area he would have seen blue eyes watching him, assuring him that such care and attention wasn't necessary, but he seemed as always recently, singularly occupied on the task at hand.

The recuperating young woman didn't bother to interrupt him, at least not yet. After all she had awoken with a slight headache, which would no doubt have him either hurrying into the back for some old fae remedy or calling Lauren at the compound to see what she should prescribe from the large white cabinet that was tucked in next to the over sized bed.

With a very soft sigh Kenzi shifted her focus to the floor off to her right side. An inflatable mattress was partially visible, its close proximity to her own bed making the high security bars on her own obscure a full view. She could still easily tell that it was unmade, that chore supposed to fall on Bo but the small job was usually forgotten. In fact one pillow lay on the Dal floor, looking more than a little worse for wear inside its pillow case though it still managed to half hide Bo's black and red negligee that had been discarded there sometime the night before. The young woman was glad she didn't remember that particular event, her best friend and her blonde lover had become very adept at quiet displays of affection over the last little while. A talent she knew had been perfected more and more as they kept vigil over her recovery.

The raven haired girl then turned her attention to watch the soft trails of pale grey smoke that seemed to endlessly drift upwards from the two large bowls of mixed herbs that smoldered constantly on two tables placed strategically at the sides of her bed. Thistle Highbourne had placed them there herself and lit them before she had left, a little under a week ago, with the promise that she would be back when Kenzi was well enough to perform the sealing ceremony on her arm.

No one had seen anything of the Harvester since then, though the two bowls, which she had explained maintained the security of the Dal around Kenzi, never seemed to peter out or even required a top up of their herbal content. The two trails of smoke just endured, silent sentinels that greeted her whenever she opened her eyes.

Kenzi had even become accustomed to the heavy incense smell that it filled the bar area with, comforted by it if she was honest. The odd mixture seeming one time to be woody, and then another time sweet, almost as if it changed in reaction to unseen forces around her. Forces Kenzi knew she didn't appreciate or really understand. After all, so much of what she had gone through only manifested as shadows in the very back of her mind, fleeting out of focus long before she even knew they had crossed her mind. All that she knew for sure was that like the smoke, her 'family' was gathered around her, clearly deeply concerned for her and everything she didn't quite remember.

Kenzi had obviously made just enough noise turning in the bed to look at the various points in the room to attract Trick's attention, as the Blood King was suddenly beside the bed, a soft smile on his face as he reached his hand up to cover hers.

"Good morning." He greeted her like he had every day since the 'recovery' part of the saga had begun, even on the mornings when the young woman had done nothing more then grunt in response.

It had become part of the routine that had evolved around Kenzi. Lauren usually left the comfort of Bo's arms around seven thirty to go to the compound. After all life went on, and the Ash needed his doctor. Not that she technically was 'his' doctor, but as Hale had said, he wanted a clear message sent to everyone. He trusted Lauren and needed her, and if she was willing, which she had been, to help then she had a place to work in the lab and there was always work.

Bo never really settled after her lover's departure, she would toss and turn for an hour at most and then get up. Her first action was always to move to the bed and greet Kenzi with a soft kiss on her forehead or stroke over dark bang to settle them. If Kenzi was still asleep, then Bo would slip out to go for a run and attempt to burn off some of her nervous energy. Waiting was not a skill that came easily to the succubus, especially when she was waiting on something as important as the Harvester's return.

Some time after that what was happening now occurred as if scheduled. Kenzi slowly woke up properly and Trick appeared out of his private rooms to begin his daily 'clean up' of the Dal. Though without the bar having its usual gaggle of patrons, clean up was barely necessary.

"Hey." Kenzi smiled back and pushed to sit up more, her muscles still feeling sore in places she didn't even know could ache. "You know my grandmother would have loved you, someone who dusts everyday, you'd be like her dream man." The young woman joked softly.

"I'm used to being busy." Trick smiled at her attempt at humour and nodded, not letting go of her hand as his thumb stroked over the bandages that encircled her palm.

"Yeah, sorry about this." Kenzi actually looked down for a moment apologetically. She did feel pretty bad that she had caused the Dal to be out of action for a whole week now, not that Trick had even mentioned it but she knew it must be an issue. On a wider scale, she wasn't totally stupid when it came to things fae and the bar was an important place to both sides.

"Don't be. The fae have survived worse things than a closed way station." Trick assured her softly as he moved to lower the security rail to make conversing easier. "Getting you back to full health and strength, that is more important." He underlined what did seem to be his wholehearted belief. "Speaking of which, how are you feeling today?" He moved off from the bed to pick up the fallen pillow from Bo and Lauren's bed, stalling when it revealed his granddaughter's choice of nightwear.

"Not so bad, but I've decided its out and about time." Kenzi admitted moving her heavily bandaged hand to pull back the sheets covering her body. "Today I will spend the whole day out of bed." She announced as she swung her legs out of the bed, the soft grey cotton pants she wore hanging loosely off her tiny body.

"Kenzi." Trick turned as his actions stopped, his face sunk into a soft frown.

"I didn't say I was planning on running a marathon or anything, just spending a large percentage of the day upright and off of a mattress." The young woman countered as she eased out of the bed, standing up with a gentle stretch. She had to admit to herself that her legs felt heavy and sluggish, so she leaned her weight back a bit against the side of the bed cheating for a moment.

"It's good that you feel up to it." Trick's frown dissipated as he left the mess that was his granddaughter's bed and moved back towards the bar area. "How about a little breakfast?"

"Now you're talking." Kenzi grinned and moved to resume what Trick had been doing to sort the bed. She made sure though to move with a deliberate slowness, especially as she bent down to pick up Bo's negligee. After all she didn't have a problem sorting out her best friend's unmentionable, she'd done it before and no doubt she'd do it again. She folded it neatly, putting it on the pillow before making the bed up around it.

"Pancakes or french toast?" The Blood King offered options just as the door opened and Dyson slipped in.

"Well this is a sight to make me smile." The wolf shifter said as he crossed straight over to Kenzi and pulled her into a soft hug. The simple fact that the young woman was out of bed had answered all questions he'd had about how she was feeling this morning and how her recovery was progressing.

"French toast." Kenzi said from within the embrace, her hand flat on Dyson's chest as she patted his back. "Nice to see you too wolf man." She pulled back as they both moved to sit up on bar stools at the bar. "What brings you here bright and early?" She asked knowing the 'schedule' usually had him appearing closer to lunch time.

"I got my clearance papers, I'm back on the job." He announced with a slight smile, hoping that Kenzi would at least share his happiness. "The Ash..." He said the formal title of his former partner purposefully. "Arranged it so that the antics I pulled before my dismissal were in fact part of an elaborate undercover operation I was involved in. With a little consistent police work, everyone should be able to believe I'm back to my old ways."

"That's awesome." Kenzi smiled brightly, she was glad that since everything that had happened Dyson would be able to slowly slip back into some semblance of normality. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, that there were still issues, especially for Bo and Lauren as far as the shifter went, but that was going to need time, and that couldn't be forced or manufactured, it just had to happen. After all for the first time since his initial trip to the Norn, Dyson was Dyson again. "So are you still like me, on a regime of meds and observation, or do you have your walking papers along with that work clearance?" She pushed for details, for Bo as much as herself.

"Still on the treatments." Dyson nodded. "I think it's best for everyone that I stay monitored for awhile." His tone was in no way judgemental or discontented. "But I am back home." This fact brought with it another smile to his face. "Talking of home, I ran by the club house and checked it over. Everything is fine, your room is still a disaster area."

"Smarter than your average guard dog." Kenzi grinned and poked at him with her finger.

"Well tomorrow is my first official day back at work, meet the new partner, we'll see how smart I am then." Dyson's voice suggested a hint of apprehension.

"Are those first day jitters I'm hearing D-man?" Kenzi grinned brightly, the idea of this amusing to say the least.

"Of course not." Dyson looked at her with a smile. "It's just my new partner is a woman, and they're unpredictable." The wolf adeptly turned the blame around onto this new 'mystery' fae. The turnaround made Kenzi laugh brightly and shake her head.

"I hope she eats you alive." Kenzi teased him. "Metaphorically speaking of course."

-x-

Bo paused, jogging on the spot for a long moment as she looked around the lot that she had run to unconsciously. It was an old favourite spot that Kenzi had brought her to so long ago now, to beat the shit out of broken down abandoned cars as a way to vent her anger. There was only one car there at the moment. A rusted Civic that was already missing its wheels, windshield and oddly enough its hood. But today the succubus had no desire to beat up anything. She felt decidedly calm, relaxed almost. Everything was at a reasonable status-quo, not the perfection she was aiming for, but not horrible either. She had lived horrible recently and she could clearly see the difference.

She lifted her head a little, letting the soft wind that was blowing hit her more directly in the face, pushing the sweat damp strands of hair back off her skin as she took long deep breaths. Her moment of serenity was disturbed when the phone in her pocket began ringing. Pulling it out, the smile on her face that had dimmed reappeared.

"Good morning Doctor." She held the phone up to her ear as she moved to lean against the civic.

"Well you certainly sound brighter than when I left you this morning." Lauren, in response to Bo's greeting, instantly perked up.

"It's a lovely day." The succubus replied, still smirking as she played with the zipper on her light weight hoody.

"Well that's good to hear and it's only nine o'clock." The blonde's up beat conversation continued, fed by the positivity she met from her lover.

"So how is the lab?" Bo turned to poke at a strip of rubber that was poking out of the door of the wrecked car.

"Reason for my call, I'll be off the grid for a while, the Ash needs me to go with him to a meeting that is strictly a no tech zone." Lauren explained hoping it wouldn't dim her lover's mood unnecessarily. "I don't know exactly how long we're going to be, shouldn't be late late, but I don't want you to worry if you call and can't get me."

"No tech zone?" Bo questioned, feeling her good mood shadowing over.

"Some fae are sensitive to technology Bo and paranoid." The blonde explained the simple reason. "I'll be with the Ash and his best guards, I'll be fine." She stressed already knowing her lover's worry.

"I wasn't concerned." Bo countered, lying badly.

"Right." Lauren chuckled knowing better even over the distance between them. "I'll let you know when we're done and I'm on my way to the Dal."

"See I'm not worried." Bo underlined before they said their goodbyes and she ended the call. Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she pulled the hood back up over her head and started running again.

-x-

"Well at least that famous Kenzi appetite is coming back." Dyson smiled more as Kenzi pushed away her empty plate and smiled at Trick who filled up her coffee mug matching her smile with one of his own. The young woman had managed to eat two rounds of french toast, each portion being smothered in a generous fountain of rich golden maple syrup.

At the same time Kenzi finished her meal, the door sounded and Bo slipped in obviously happy to see her bet friend up and out of bed from the bright 'hey' that came at her the instant she saw Kenzi at the bar. Kenzi turned in place and grinned at her best friend.

"Look at you." Bo hurried over, unzipping her hoodie to reveal the tight red work out tank she had on underneath. "All up, out of bed and everything." The succubus was determined to stay focused on the positive, even though it was more than obvious now that the younger woman was out of bed just how much weight she had dropped over the course of her ordeal, then again how would being a ghoul really jive with anyone's internal systems. They had already been lucky enough that a good deal of the ligament damage Kenzi had suffered from the ghoul's unnatural movements had been reversed with the removal of the offensive entity.

"And eating." Kenzi pointed to the empty plate and then patted her more than flat belly. "I'm like a real person again, almost, if I could leave the Dal." She gave a soft laugh. "How was your run? What's the weather like? I miss the weather." She glanced at the small stained glass windows of the bar that didn't really give a clear idea of what it was like outside.

"It's clear, a little windy." Bo gave the sum up. "And my run was good, I went to the car lot, though there's nothing good there to destroy." She began but then glanced at Dyson with a smile and stopped. "You didn't hear that." She added. "At no point in time have Kenzi and I ever destroyed property or trespassed." She put her arm around her best friend's shoulder.

"It's okay Bo, I'm not officially a police officer again until tomorrow." Dyson gave her a slight smile, hoping she would pick up on his statement.

"Wow." Bo did indeed pick up on it as her eyes widened slightly. "Everything really is getting back to normal isn't it?" She tried to keep her relaxed stance and attitude after all Dyson had done so much to help with Kenzi and he was keeping out of Lauren's personal space, not to mention treating her with kid gloves whenever they were together. "Do you have a new partner?" She asked of the wolf.

"Tell her the good news." Kenzi reached over and poked the wolf's leg playfully.

"I do have a new partner, and..." Dyson began to explain but was cut off.

"It's a lady detective!" Kenzi interrupted making childish noises to underline the fact.

"Interesting." Bo couldn't help but raise her eyebrow to the news. "Do you know anything about her?"

"They've sent me the basics, she's from out of county. She has previously worked Vice and Homicide, so she's seasoned. I was afraid they were going to stick me with a rookie." Dyson gave a soft laugh. "But I think they're hoping she'll have better luck keeping me in line then Hale did."

"What kind of Fae is she?" Bo asked the more important question.

"She's a harpy." Dyson gave the information easily before looking at Kenzi. "And before you say anything, whatever you know about Harpies is probably not true." He gave her a soft smile.

"So she won't be an ugly half hag, half bird woman? I was going to ask exactly how she would blend in with us humans with bird feet." Kenzi smirked unable to resist saying anything.

"She will most certainly not be half bird." It was Trick who contradicted her from his place behind the bar. "That was a myth the Greek concocted to scare soldiers. They are in fact a species of Fae known for their tenacity and vigour, as well as their capacity for savagery. The Greek confused many facts, in battle their ancient traditional armour consisted of long arm shields created from the feathers of condors and since they were known for being covered in the gore of their victims believed to be disfiguring ugly."

"I'm not seeing how this makes them great at being a police officer." Bo admitted listening to Trick's run down. "Violent savagery isn't something I would think the local constabulary want to be known for."

"I think we can assume she is probably proficient at being a police officer because Harpies are also known for their ability to read minds Bo." Trick gave her a soft smile for trying.

"Oh, handy." Bo gave a eye roll, giving the unknown Fae the benefit of the doubt that that talent indeed would be handy to say the least. "So does she have a name this mind reading Harpy?"

"Detective Tamsin Nelson." Dyson replied. "And remember to be nice." He looked between Kenzi and Bo.

"Like we're ever anything but." Kenzi gave him a bright smile, picking up her coffee. "Us unaligned are the pinnacle of nice."

-x-

The meeting room was elegant and large, tucked away in the lower levels of the compound so that it was secure. A large rectangular carved oak table was central in the room, with one green velvet padded chair at the far end and a high backed chair for the Ash at the other. Around Hale's head, carved into the wood of the chair were the traditional symbols of his high ranking status, making it appear as if he had a crown of wooden leaves. Off to his left, Lauren was seated on a small backless chair, also padded in green velvet.

"Really Elder Keelan I can assure you..." Hale tried to begin a response, sitting uncomfortably in his seat, trying to remember all his father had ever tried to teach him about posturing and how to stay in control of a situation using body language and positioning more than words as he sat across from the rather wizened older fae looking at him. "As you can see the good doctor is quite well..." He motioned with his hand to Lauren who was sat beside him, a typically patient and polite 'Lauren' smile on her face.

The conversation had gone down hill the moment the pleasantries were over with and the servants had been dismissed after serving coffee and snacks. Immediately the Elder had fixed the young Ash with his beady eyes and asked him point blank what he intended to do about the unacceptable situation that had occurred with 'His' doctor. When Hale had enquired as to what exactly he had meant, the poor Siren had gotten a lecture about respecting his elders, not expecting to walk into a new position, and even a few words on how he was going to treat those who paid his salary and kept him in office.

The conversation had continued to head downhill when Hale hadn't immediately reacted as he should have, in fact he hadn't immediately reacted at all. Instead he had just sat there in stunned silence at the violent diatribe that had been thrown at him. His lack of response opened the floodgates to a second wave of insults and accusations to be hurled at him from the wrinkled old fae, who added in a few insults about his family lineage and then suggested that Lauren was both looking 'sickly' and possibly was being poisoned by the Ash himself. Who didn't want her services, for reasons unknown and unexplained, and was only being kept around on show until she ultimately died as humans had a tendency of doing.

Hale had been going to try to rationally address some of the more lucid points the older Fae had brought up when his eyes glanced down to the pad of paper that Lauren had in front of her to see doodled in clear letters... 'Remember YOU are the Ash'.

"Actually Elder Keelan, I do think, with my waning respect, that it is about time you closed your mouth and listened for a few moments." Hale's words were firm but not loud, and he pushed his ornate chair back slowly as he stood up. "Firstly, if I hear you say one unpleasant thing about the Zamora clan again, even in whisper, I will have you stripped of your seat at the council and put in charge of stationary purchases." He turned with more anger in his eyes then Lauren had probably ever witnessed from the Siren, and not surprisingly the other man's mouth stayed closed. "Secondly, the Doctor is in perfect health and currently assigned to caring for the Human Ambassador. As you might understand, it is of the utmost importance that I assist the Ambassador as it would hardly look progressive if I appoint her to the title and then let her die without medical assistance from our top physician." He moved around the table to the halfway point between where he had been sitting and the other man.

Confidently he leaned slightly on the table side though he stayed facing his 'opponent', the lessons about body language coming back to him as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Now while you may have grown accustomed under the former Ash to throwing your weight around and getting your own way like a naughty child, but I will not be proceeding in that matter. Whether any of us like it or not there is a legitimate question as to whether or not Dr. Lewis has come to be under the protection of the Ash through illegal methods and I for one am not going to continue a legacy of lies when the Doctor herself has proven her enduring loyalty to the Light Fae during the defeat of the Garuda." He shifted his weight to stand again, this time turning so that he could see both the Elder and Lauren. "If the outcome of the Ambassador's enquiry is that Dr. Lewis is the property of the Ash, then I assume she will continue her services as currently provided but if the enquiry finds that she is not my property..." He looked back at the Elder who went to open his mouth but thought better for it and closed it again. "Then I will make the necessary adjustments to ensure that all of the Light Fae still receive the medical care they require. Which I assume is the basic fear you are trying to express within all that you barked at me a moment ago. It is my hope that even if the Doctor is granted her freedom that we will be able to come to an agreement that would allow her to continue at her position in the lab."

"The very idea of having a human not owned, not directed by the Light interacting with the high Elders is preposterous." Elder Kellan barked at Hale, now totally ignoring Lauren's presence. "Who knows what such an outsider would do to one of us."

"Lower your voice!" Hale raised his own voice, his Siren tones booming off the walls with ease as he projected his words. "This is not a hedge witch picking wild herbs that we are speaking about, this is a expert in a dozen medical fields whose knowledge you couldn't even begin to comprehend. If Dr. Lewis wished to have killed any of us, she could have done so a thousand times over in ways we most likely wouldn't even have suspected her of. You question her loyalty simply because she is human, you question her Hippocratic oath because you are afraid. This is not a time where we keep humans as pets and give them hay to sleep on in the cellar, it is 2012 and those humans who are within the fold of the Fae must be treated with some modicum of respect when they are due it." He turned to look at Lauren. "Dr. Lewis, do you intend on doing harm to the Fae if you were given your freedom?"

"No." Lauren shook her head softly. "I would never, could never.." She stopped herself from extrapolating "No." She summed up.

"If I am not mistaken Keelan, you own wife was cured of a nearly fatal issue some three months ago by this very human doctor. I suggest you take the time to weigh that against the fear you feel." Hale turned his back to the elder and walked back to his seat sitting before he continued. "Now, do you have any other legitimate issues to discuss? The issue of Dr. Lewis' ownership will remain as it is now, with her under my direct supervision, until the Ambassador presents her findings."

-x-

Authors Note : For everyone who answered our query at the end of our other story 'Missing', firstly Thank you so much, to so many of you for voicing your opinions, it was so nice to hear from you and such an inspiration to know that our little story is being enjoyed, secondly we wanted to post this the first part of our next 'Fae' story to let you all know there was never any danger that we would leave or abandon this universe, even if we did choose to write a sequel to Missing, which by the way we have decided to do :). Anyway, enough of an author going on, welcome back to our 'Fae' series and I hope you enjoy our ride. Oh and Merry Christmas xoxoxox


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faery Tale", the fourth story in an AU plot line.

Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)

**No Faete But What We Make: Part Two**

**By: The Rainbowwriters**

It was with a certain amount of relief that Lauren pushed through the door that led into the Dal. It was odd how quickly the place had become to feel like home, even under the odd circumstances that had surrounded the necessity of it. The concept of home wasn't something Lauren had developed often, the compound or any apartment they leased to her or allowed her to stay in was always almost just an extension of work, and underlining of her position in life, or in the Fae world. It was never hers to mould or modify, and so making any of them a home had been hard, too hard to even try after a while. They were always comfortable and more than adequate, but not a home, not in definition that Lauren had grown up with in her head and heart. Yet in the time that she had spent curled up with Bo on an air mattress in the Dal just metres away from a recovering Kenzi, she had come the closest to that feeling than she had in the last five and a half years. Unbelievable maybe, but the truth none the less.

"Hey." Bo's soft voice greeted her almost instantly as the door closed behind her and almost on instinct Lauren turned and slide the three heavy bolts across the dead locks into place, having become used to being the last one in for the most part. She turned after doing this to see Bo moving towards her with a smile, obviously pleased to see her.

As the blonde usually did, she returned the smile with genuine feeling, and then glanced at the medical bed ready for whatever comment Kenzi was going to pass her way, only to see the empty. Her warm smile of greeting must have evaporated instantly as Bo was beside her with an extra fast hop and skip, sliding a warm hand into her own.

"She's okay." The succubus said quickly. "She's just out in the back, helping my grandfather with dinner." She explained wanting to alleviate any concern the blonde had as quickly as possible.

"Oh." Lauren blinked a little in surprise and looked up towards the propped open door to the private rooms beyond. "Well that's great." She added honestly. "As long as she remembered to keep her hand covered, she did remember to keep her..." She frowned again looking at the doorway intensely.

"Relax." Bo chuckled, sliding her hand up Lauren's arm to briefly rub at the blonde's shoulder. "We covered that. I put one of those extra dressings on it and then I strapped it up in a sling, she can't even use it." The succubus smiled at her lover tenderly. "You're wound up." She made the observation with a soft frown as they crossed to a booth that had unofficially become their relax together in the evening spot. "Tough day?" She added as she urged Lauren to sit down, taking a seat herself on the edge of the low coffee table in the area, picking up one of the blonde's still booted feet as soon as she sat down. "Tell me all about it." She added as she slid her hand a little up the bottom of dark dress pants, found the top of the dark brown boots Lauren was wearing and eased down the zipper.

"Mmmm." Lauren made the soft noise of relaxation as she leaned back into the long bench like couch, tipping her head back slightly to let her hair trail back off her shoulders. "Long story short, people chose today to start pushing the new Ash's buttons." The blonde began as Bo worked and removed both boots, then began to gently massage her feet. "And as he is the lovely Siren we all know and love he needed the occasional reminder that he had the upper hand." She tried to sum up what had indeed made the day so long and trying. "Add to that I am both his biggest problem, and is biggest possible asset right now, and it's been a long day." She admitted tipping her head back into a more neutral position to look at Bo. "They're pushing him to find a replacement for Kenzi." She added the detail that had brought an extra level of stress to her day. "They understand of course that she is sick, it's just that they need closure." She gave a tight smile remembering the words that the representative had used when he had delivered the 'unified message of the Elders' to Hale barely an hour before she was supposed to have left for the day, that had been three hours ago.

"And what did Hale say?" Bo's frown was enough to convey her utter disbelief and complete displeasure with what she was hearing, though she tried to make sure that her hands never stopped their gentle massage over Lauren's tired feet.

"He's taking his time to return to them with his 'considered Ash response'." Lauren actually smiled as she quoted the young looking Siren. "He might be new at this game, but he's picking up the rules rather well." She noted briefly running her hand across her brow, as if to push away more trace of tiredness that lingered around her from her time at the compound. "How was your day?" She looked again at her lover, this time with a smile.

"More stressful than you might imagine actually." Bo replied, gently resting Lauren's feet down onto the coffee table and then moving to sit down on the couch with her. The succubus' answer made the blonde frown again. "Don't frown." She shook her head smiling instantly. "Kenzi is feeling better." She began to explain, "Which in short mean Kenzi is beginning to get frustrated with four walls." She explained a little more. "And I don't know if my grandfather is ready for Robot Hookers." She grinned at her lover.

Lauren chuckled softly nodding slightly as the situation became a little clearer.

"But as the next stage of her recovery rests in the hands of an elusive Fae who has had to live the last few hundred years of her life in hiding because her entire strain of Fae were ordered dead in a Fae wide cull..." Bo continued her explanation her smile still bright as she watched the slightly entertained smile spread across Lauren's face. "I'm beginning to think it might be time to broaden a different old Fae's mind." She glanced at the door to the private rooms. "Really do you think he'd cope with the flat screen and the hookers?"

"It's not like they're real hookers, that is there aren't going to be lines of them pouring into the Dal day and night." Lauren pointed out with a growing smile. "Just remember to pack her headphones." She offered her lover the tip as she leaned the short distance between them to kiss Bo's cheek.

The succubus didn't let her pull back, putting her hands up to cup both of Lauren's cheeks and hold her in place, so she could make the next a mouth to mouth one, far more passionate than the initial tender peck had been. Eventually Bo released her loose grip and Lauren eased back into her place, taking a deep breath, a slightly pink tinge to her cheeks, a bright smile on her face.

"I just wish Thistle had left us a way to contact her." Bo continued her lament about the situation. "You know a card, or a phone number. Or I don't know something more Fae, a bell? A whistle? A Thistle whistle."

Lauren gave her lover a brief 'Really?' look and then smiled, as she was once again gently amused and touch by exactly how little Bo knew or understood about the world she was a part of.

"She's not a dog Bo." The blonde reached out and slid her hand onto the succubus' knee. "Thistle will come back when she is ready to come back, now whether that is when Kenzi is ready, or it's when she is ready I can't say. I just know about Fae like her, she will be here when it is time and not a moment before." The blonde spoke with utter conviction. "Until then, you just have to keep your slightly ADHD friend busy." She smiled even more and slid her hand a little higher up Bo's thigh.

"I'm getting the TV and the hookers." Bo made the decision easily, turning more in the seat so that Lauren's hand was at a more natural angle for the blonde. "And we're moving the mattress into the cask room."

Lauren quirked her eyebrow at the brunette.

"I am sick of being quiet." She grinned brightly, "One of the best things about making love to you is hearing you scream my name." Pulling on the hand on her leg, Bo drew Lauren closer and pulled her into her arms. "If she's better enough to blow the heads of robot hookers, she can sleep through the night." The succubus buried her face into blonde hair that pooled at Lauren's neck. "And I can keep you up all through it." She added wickedly, kissing the soft warm skin just below the blonde's ear, lightly grazing her teeth against it. "You get changed into comfy at home clothes, I'll move the bed."

With a wink Bo eased back, kissed Lauren briefly on the lips and then jogged off towards the air mattress.

-x-

"So Lauren..." Kenzi looked at the blonde over the small round dinner table that they were sat at along with Trick and Bo, all of them enjoying large bowls of spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread. The blonde looked up from her meal towards the raven haired younger woman with a curious smile. "Harpies." She said the word, her blue eyes bright with curiosity. "I've got the oh so 'Fae' take on them from Trickster here, but what have you got to say about them?"

"Harpies?" A frown of confusion passed across Lauren's face as she paused before lifting another fork full of pasta to her mouth. "Why the sudden interest in Harpies?" She glanced around the small table.

"She's being nosey." Bo's eyes looked at Kenzi for a moment, wishing now she'd remembered to talk to Lauren about the developments regarding the wolf in private. "Dyson has been given the clear to start work tomorrow and he has been assigned a new partner, who is a Harpy." She kept her eyes on the blonde trying to gauge the subtleties in her reaction.

For a fraction of a second the blonde's eyes went wide at the idea that Dyson was cleared for duty, the added dimension of that meaning that he could now, and indeed probably would now be showing up at the compound and in that lab any time, without warning or preempt dawned on her. The thought made something inside her seize and for a millisecond panic before she just pushed through it in that 'Lauren' way.

"They're fascinating Fae." She looked back at Kenzi in particular. "One of the oldest of the 'basic' Fae and by that I mean ones that fall below status like..." Brown eyes panned briefly over to Trick.

"Did you see that look Poppa T, that was the Doc's way of giving you a compliment, you're not a basic Fae." Kenzi teased playfully.

"There is nothing wrong with being a basic Fae." Trick corrected softly, also having watched the doctor's reaction to the news about Dyson.

"I didn't realize there were like levels." The succubus was honest as she reached for another slice of cheese covered garlic bread.

"It is not so much levels Bo, but classification based on the rarity of a Fae's power set." Trick continued to explain as he expertly swirled some spaghetti against a spoon with his fork.

"And what that given Fae feeds upon and how." Lauren added helpfully. "A Blood Mage with their extraordinary abilities and for example a mermaid are not comparable."

"Exactly Lauren." Trick gave a nod of agreement to the blonde. "Within the family of every type of Fae, there are differences in expression of their abilities as well."

"Oh, like Hale's siren cousin who is tone deaf?" Kenzi put in remembering the comment that the Siren had made once.

"In a way, yes." Trick had to acknowledge some truth in her statement. "Within the Sirens there are those whose tones can barely charm one, while others have been known to be able to charm entire ships from great distances. Every Fae, while defined by their type and feeding habits, is unique in the level of their power."

"So where does Bo fall on the Succubus scale?" Kenzi grinned and poked her best friend's shin under the table with her sock covered foot.

Trick's eyes went to his linger on his granddaughter, who cast a playful glare at Kenzi.

"She's..." Lauren paused her eyes moving to look at Bo. "Unique." The trace of a smile graced the blonde's lips for a moment, "But then I'm biased." She looked back at her bowl of spaghetti, her smile broadening slightly.

"I'm the unaligned, I think that is enough of a label." Bo used her foot to poke Kenzi back, the simple fact that her best friend was well enough to be teasing her a blessing after all she'd gone through.

"Whatev'z." Kenzi shrugged her shoulders and shovelled an oversized meatball into her mouth. "Now, back to Harpies." She pointed her fork at Lauren. "Trick says no wings, is he lying?"

"No, Harpies do not have wings. The myth is founded in ancient armour they wore on their arms that gave them the appearance of having wings." Lauren unknowingly reiterated the same reasoning Trick had given.

"Back to the flipping condor crap?" The younger woman looked severely disappointed. "So this bird, pun totally intended by the way, isn't gonna have wings, isn't gonna have claws, isn't going to be hideously skanky and ugly and isn't gonna have a beak." She sat back a little in her chair and stole Bo's half eaten garlic bread, munching on it instantly. "Is her nose even going to be bigger than average?"

"I don't know about her nose." Lauren gave a soft shrug. "But I can assure you she won't have any of the other bird characteristics you mentioned. She will however be strong and agile, and of course have the ability to look into people's thoughts, which I think is the most fascinating of their traits. It has led to them being persecuted by some, revered by others and often resulted in them being kept in many Fae households."

"Will she be able to like read everything?" Kenzi scrunched her nose up, her eyes half closing as she looked at Lauren. "Or just big ones?"

"It will depend on her personal abilities but the ability to read all thoughts is a very rare. It is most likely that she is able to get glimpses into thoughts, perhaps even focus her own mind and pick out some specific thoughts but normally the ability allows the Harpy to gleam insight into another Fae's thoughts at specific moments in time during interactions. Often there abilities are even more effective on humans, but it is still does not give them a completely clear picture of all thoughts." Lauren tried to explain the concept better to Kenzi.

"Fae with the ability to read all thoughts and memories are almost always driven mad by the ability." Trick added with a soft frown.

"Well that sucks." Bo summed up succinctly with a wince of empathy.

"Yes." Lauren glanced across the table at her with a brief frown of her own. "It's actually quite tragic." She said, the level of sadness in her tone typically Lauren, she never was one to be able to stand the idea of anything suffering unnecessarily.

"And suddenly this got depressing." Kenzi frowned too, mainly because she really hadn't wanted over dinner chat to go to a bad place. "Which it so shouldn't because hello, the one armed wonder is up, out of bed and eating." She motioned to herself with a bright smile.

"Which is fabulous." Bo instantly brightened too as she looked at her best friend. "And you make a great spaghetti, who knew?" She added tucking into another healthy fork full.

"Yeah well that might not have been you know, all me." Kenzi picked up her abandoned fork and chased a meatball around her plate a little.

"As a chef's assistant she was very helpful." Trick gave her a soft smile, knowing she'd done little more then watch him and taste test whenever he would let her but considering the state she had been in so recently he had been more than pleased with the effort.

"Helpful enough to warrant a reward?" Bo asked looking at her grandfather with a smile.

"Most definitely, which is why I have apple cobbler for dessert." Trick smiled back at her, knowing that the recipe was one of his granddaughter's favourites.

"Actually." Bo took a slight breath. "I was thinking." She glanced briefly at Lauren and then at Kenzi before looking back at the older Fae. "Of going to the club house and maybe picking up the TV and your game console." She looked back at her bestie to see blue eyes sparkling in joy at just the mention of her beloved gadgets.

"Television and video games? Hells yes!" Kenzi's grin was unmistakably full of excitement. "No offence Poppa Trick but the fact your bar has no television is bizarre."

"It is how I like it." Trick explained shaking his head at her. "But as long as you can assure me it will be leaving again when Kenzi is able to go home, I don't see any reason to object." His approval making Bo smile at her best friend.

"I even cleared it with your doctor, who also agreed that something to entertain you would be a good thing." The succubus' smile increased as Kenzi literally bounced on her chair.

"This is the best day I've had since..." The younger woman enthused. "Whenever." She added slightly lamely. "Are you planning on going after dinner?" She pushed.

"Yes, that was my plan." Bo had to give a soft laugh as she finished off her last meatball. "I thought that while I'm gone it gives Lauren time to do all the usual medical checks, so that by the time its all ready you'll be ready."

"You have to promise you will be sensible, your hand is healing but you need to be careful with it." Lauren pointed out her proviso. "I will dress it slightly differently to give it more padding and protection, but just don't over do it." She stressed softly.

"I won't I promise." Kenzi put her fingers up in an oath. "I swear." She added before looking at Trick with a beaming smile. "Time for cobbler Grandpa."

-x-

Bo came into the cask room, where the air mattress she'd been sharing with Lauren had been moved, shaking her head with a laugh at her best friend. The younger woman was already happily playing video games, the large flat screen positioned at the end of her bed for optimal line of sight. The small sign of normalcy gave her a feeling of hope for the future, even if they had no idea when the Harvester would be back to finish the job and make Kenzi completely safe again after the ordeal.

She was rather surprised by the set up that greeted her. The usually rather stark old room that was filled with large oak casks, that held different on tap beers really had nothing else in it, and was somewhat poorly lit, but right now it looked quite different. Obviously in her absence certain 'changes' had been made to it. Strings of white Christmas lights had been draped above and between casks, filling the room with a twinkling mass of white light, that almost looked like stars against the dark wooden ceiling.

The air mattress had been moved slightly from where Bo had just put it close to the door, to rest against one of the side of the row of casks, with two smaller barrels put up along each side of it to serve as bedside tables. Each one held a small oil lamp and a glass of water, 'Lauren's' side had her alarm clock. The sheets on the bed were changed and there was a different, slightly thicker comforter on the mattress, the temperature in the cask room slightly cooler than in the main bar.

What was missing however was the blonde and as lovely as the newly 'home-ified' cask room was, it was Lauren that Bo was really looking for. She was about to turn and slip out again, when the door opened behind her and the doctor slipped inside, already dressed in light pyjamas, and her soft cotton robe.

"Someone back there is happy." The blonde said softly as she closed the door.

"She is, I give her an hour before the adrenaline runs out and she's asleep." Bo watched the blonde move further in, her lips curling up into an appreciative smile. "I like what you've done to the place."

"I had help, well direction." Lauren amended her statement with a smile. "I won't tell you the name she's given to the room."

"I'm not even going to try to guess." Bo laughed lightly knowing Kenzi could come up with some dodgy labels.

"The Sparkly Sex Shack." Lauren arched her eyebrow slightly, a slightly pinkish tint colouring her high cheeks.

"I'm sorry, she doesn't know when to turn it off some times." Bo shook her head. "Though fundamentally..." She moved closer to Lauren and reached to run her thumb over the hint of colour. "I like it."

"Her comment to me at the door was 'Over dressed much'." The blonde instantly relaxed from the embarrassment and breathed out as Bo drew closer.

"I think you look beautiful, I can't wait to peel everything off you though if I'm honest but unwrapping a present was always one of the best parts to me." Bo let her hand slide up into blonde hair before she leaned forward to kiss her lightly.

Lauren kissed Bo back loving the softness of the lips on her own, and the feeling of strong but careful positioned fingers that slid into her hair.

"I bet you were an adorable child." She whispered the words onto the succubus' lips, "I can picture you now on Christmas morning, crossed legged on the floor surrounded by Christmas wrap."

"I used to annoy my cousins because I didn't just shred it off as quickly as possible and move onto the next one." Bo admitted slipping her other hand to play with the loose knot in the tie around Lauren's waist. "I liked to go slow." She pulled one end gently and began to undo it.

"Really, you didn't just rip it all off carelessly?" The blonde half closed her eyes and moved her head back and forth ever so slightly so that her blonde locks slid over and between Bo's fingers as the movement made the succubus' hand that she kept still against the side of Lauren's head massage her skull lightly.

"Sometimes, which method do you think is better?" Bo put more pressure into her fingertips, as always loving the feel of Lauren's hair. It was one of those little guilty pleasures she had.

"There is a time and a place for both, I like slow too, I used to peel off the tape, take so long." She drew out the word so with a soft almost purr to her voice. "I liked to see my present a little at a time, so I could spend time thinking about how I was going to enjoy it, thinking about all the different things I was going to do with it." She continued her voice staying low and thick.

"Mmmm I like the idea of that." Bo purred the words back as she slipped both her hands to Lauren's shoulders, pressing the robe back off the blonde before letting both of her hands move to the blonde's neck massaging the muscles there. As she did she moved her head down so she could press her mouth to Lauren's throat, peppering the skin with kisses.

"Don't you need to go and say goodnight to your Grandfather?" Lauren didn't want to stop the very enjoyable attention she was receiving from her lover but she knew that if things were going the way they both obviously wanted, there was very little chance either of them would be leaving the cask room before the older Fae or Kenzi for that matter turned in for the night.

"I said goodnight before he went downstairs to his rooms." Bo explained in between more kisses, letting them trail up towards Lauren's ear as her hands moved down the material covering the blonde's back.

Lauren leaned body back a little into Bo's hands, her eyes closing a little more tightly as the pleasure she was experiencing notched up a level, with the worry of Bo having to leave her mid something being removed.

"Have I told you how it feels when you touch me, how you take my breath away with the simplest touch, the briefest of movements." The blonde breathed out, her voice heavy with arousal.

"No, continue... I love the sound of your voice..." Bo let her lips close around the blonde's earlobe and sucked lightly. "Especially when you're aroused." She whispered finishing the sentence finally.

"Your touch has always been special, different..." Lauren gave a soft moan at the end of her words as Bo's hands slid down her back to where the material ended, pausing only briefly before the succubus pressed her hands up under the soft cotton onto warm skin. "But since..." She paused again, her body arching slightly as Bo's finger tips actually touched her back. "Since using your Great Grandparents' gift, or maybe even before then, after the Garuda, it's like when you touch me, you..." She arched harder as Bo slid her hand up her spine in a long graceful stroke. "You have only ever touched me, will only ever touch me." Lauren hoped she was making some sense as pleasure sparked through her making her ache and loose some of her usually sharp focus.

"That's because my hands were made to touch you." Bo words were punctuated by her mouth coming back around to press against Lauren's, the kiss slow and deep almost trying to convey for the succubus how true she believed her own words to be. Now that Lauren had drawn a spotlight to it, she knew the blonde was right, there had been a change in the feeling of the interactions between them since the Garuda. A change that was hallmarked by an increase of intensity, a deepening of the echo of desire inside her that literally could make her shiver with pleasure sometimes from only the simplest interaction. Added to that was her new found ability not only to read the sexual energy coming from the blonde but to pinpoint minute changes within it on a moment to moment basis. At a time like this it underlined to her that the sweep of her fingers down Lauren's spine was causing flares of pleasure to overtake the blonde in ways she wouldn't have imagined. "I was made to love you." She admitted letting her fingernails trail down the same route.

"Bo." Lauren moaned the succubus name as she arched against her pressed her hips against the brunette. "Take me, make me scream your name over and over until I fall breathless into your arms."

The nearly buckling bolt of pleasure that flashed through the succubus would have threatened to put her on her knees if it wasn't for the idea of doing exactly what Lauren had asked of her. In reaction her lips found the blonde's again, their kiss this time instantly red hot and a little desperate as she pulled their bodies harder together.

Still kissing each other whenever possible, the Succubus pushed the blonde's pj top up off Lauren's body before peeling her own top off and making quick work of shedding her bra. As they pressed into another kiss, the new feeling of their breasts crushing into one another made them both moan against each other. Remembering that their standing position wasn't necessary, Bo guided Lauren over and down onto the air mattress, reaching to pull the loose cotton pants off the blonde's body before she peeled off her leathers and moved down to join her again.

Surveying her lover's now completely naked body, Bo moved so that she could close her lips over Lauren's belly button. Feeling the instant arch of Lauren's body upwards, she let her mouth make a line of kisses first downwards until the blonde's hips were off the mattress and then she changed direction heading back upwards.

She only veered from the centre line of Lauren's abdomen when she reached the valley between the blonde's breasts. Her hands coming up to the outside of each breast, pushing them inwards so that with only a slight movement she could trace her tongue first around one nipple and then the other before repeating the process.

Lauren opened her mouth to say something to the passionate succubus but all that came out was a pleasure filled groan followed by a hip flex as she tried to find her lover's body to press against to ease the ever building ache at her core.

Sensing the need, Bo moved her body to settle in between the blonde's legs, though her mouth and tongue continued to play back and forth before she finally closed her lips around one straining nipple and sucked harder. She let her hips press back against her lover's upwards thrusts, the thin mattress of air between them buckling and bending to offer little help in getting Lauren the friction she wanted.

Of course Bo was fully using this fact to her advantage, keeping the nipple she'd captured held tight between her lips as she pulled back her head a little before pressing her mouth forward with her hips to take as much of Lauren's breast into her mouth as she could. There was just something about the taste of the blonde's skin that made her continue to greedily switch from one breast to the other. When she felt Lauren's legs close around her body, locking her in place it was clear that her lover was enjoying the intense attention she was paying to her breasts.

Instantly Bo made the decision that she wasn't going to take her lips away from their current task until either Lauren asked her to do something else, or it simply seemed the blonde couldn't take anymore, after all they had the privacy to do exactly what they wanted and the time to enjoy every minute.

-x-


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faery Tale", the fourth story in an AU plot line.

Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)

**No Faete But What We Make: Part Three**

**By: The Rainbowwriters**

Dyson took a slightly deep breath, pulled at his dark leather vest and looked up at the double doors of the precinct building that stood in front of him and for the first time in longer than he could remember felt something akin to concern. It was an alien feeling for him considering his approach, view of life and existence in general, but everything that had happened to him since getting his love back from the Norn had coloured his view slightly. He felt like he had so much to make up for, in all aspects of his life and that just didn't fit with his usual outlook.

Wolves didn't apologize for their behaviour, you either liked what they did and how they did it, or you turned around and walked away. There was no kowtowing or begging, there was just action and reaction, but Dyson knew that wasn't going to work this time. This time, in so many different places, for so many different reasons, there was going to be the need for making up. A need for a period of reflection and basically thinking before he acted and that, well, that wasn't going to be easy.

To add to all of that he had a new partner to add to the mix. Dyson was never exactly great with new people, especially ones that he was expected to work with, which immediately meant that he had to form at least some level of a relationship with them. He had found a good friend and partner in Hale, and he knew that, but now Hale was the Ash. It wasn't that Dyson begrudged his friend that remarkable 'promotion', but it did leave him with a certain sense of discomfort at the effort it was going to take to get back to the familiarity and comfort that he had with the Siren.

Taking another breath the shifter pushed through the doors and entered the precinct nodding politely and even smiling to the calls and the greetings he received from his fellow officers. Not wanting to appear brash or rude Dyson made sure to return their well wishes before moving with purpose to his boss' office to check in and begin what he knew was going to be a long day.

Opening the door Dyson was immediately focused on by a pair of piercing grey eyes, that lingered on him for a long moment, causing him to look back into them, distracting him from looking over the large desk the Captain as he walked in. They belonged to a young looking blonde who stood with her back to the wall, close to the door, her hands tucked behind her back. She stood almost to attention, but there was something almost mocking about her attentive stance. As if she knew this was how a policewoman should stand when in her superior's office, at attention and alert, but that she was doing it for show and show alone.

It was fair to say that the blonde was quite beautiful. It was hard to judge just how long her hair was as it was tied up in a pony tail that gave her an almost severe, angled look, but still she was beautiful, and her eyes, though a beautiful colour were slightly... cold was the word, giving nothing of what she might be thinking or feeling away.

A polite cough from Dyson's boss broke the shifter from staring at the blonde and in fact made him realize he'd even been doing so. With a distracted frown he looked at the middle aged looking man in a cheap looking suit who was looking rather perturbed at the tall wolf.

"Nice of you to at least be on time." He pointed to the chair next to the shifter, to let him know he should sit down.

Dyson didn't say anything in response, after all what could he say. He was on time because he should be, and there wasn't much else to it. His return to work wasn't going to go very smoothly if he couldn't even appear on time for the first day.

"This is Detective Tamsin Nelson." The other man nodded to the blonde who just gave a subtle nod, she didn't move, didn't offer her hand in greeting. "You two are on in-house duties for the next few weeks till you get to know each other, and until Detective Nelson gets to know how things work around here and you find your feet again." He added more detail.

"Nice to meet you, Dyson Thornwood." He reached out his hand towards her..

"Your reputation precedes you." The blonde's tone was completely neutral as very slowly she pulled her arms around from behind her back and shook the one that Dyson offered, her grip surprisingly vice like. Grey eyes again locked onto his and held them intensely.

"I wish I had the same luxury with you." Dyson let her have the stronger grip, not really in the mood to get in any sort of a pissing match so earlier. "And I'm sure Detective Nelson already knows the ropes, where to find the stationary isn't hard to catch on to. I'm also sure there are cases we could be working on that are more important than a tour of the building." He tried to make a push to dissolve the so called 'desk' jobs they were going to be assigned.

"You have a lot to make up for Thornwood." Dyson's boss shook his head. "Prove to me your head is back in the game and the probation period won't be so long." He made the compromise with an arch of a bushy eyebrow. "Now take your new partner out for a coffee or something, you're going to need it when you see the mountain of paperwork you have to get through."

"Yes Captain." Dyson gave a simple nod of his head and backtracked opening the door for his partner. It seemed to take the blonde a moment to decide to move, but when she did, she confidently strode past him into the hallway beyond. He followed and closed the door behind them. "So coffee? The stuff made in house is like battery acid, but there is a good place a few blocks over."

"By the sounds of it we're going to be seeing enough of this place in the next few weeks." The blonde moved to where her jacket was slung over what had used to be Hale's chair. "I'm not great with being cooped up so I vote for taking our chances outside." She pulled the expensive looking suit jacket on her slim form and without waiting for the tall shifter moved out towards the exit.

-x-

"Good morning beautiful." A soft kiss on her cheek brought Lauren to the realms of consciousness in the gentlest way that she could remember. Accompanied by a warm arm that slid over her hip and then across her stomach as Bo inched closer behind her, kissing her again. "You are so warm and smell so good." The succubus nuzzled her nose into tussled blonde hair and squeezed the blonde gently.

"Mmmm so do you." For the first few moments Lauren just let her increasing consciousness be filled with those very things, that was until her logical brain woke up and she realized something was very wrong. "What time is it? I didn't hear the alarm." She opened her eyes and looked up at the glowing numbers on the clock that informed her it was already nine thirty. "Oh no, no, I'm late." She wiggled out of Bo's arm to sit up, having to take a moment in that position as her body tried to adjust to the sudden change. "I am so late, oh God Hale's going to kill me."

"He most certainly is not." Bo let her push up and away and then moved to sit up too, bringing the sheet with her. "And you're not that late it's only what?" She leaned back, looking behind Lauren to the barrel acting as a side table. "Nine-ish." She said with a slight wince. "Okay so that's late. But can you really be late when you're officially in limbo?" She offered the counter argument.

"Yes Bo I can, I still have responsibilities to the Lab and the Ash." Lauren managed to push up completely and move to the small suitcase of clothes she had. There was certainly no time for a shower, and she only hoped she didn't smell as much like sex to everyone as she did to Bo. "I can't undermine Hale's authority." She began to pull on some underwear and pants. "Can you drive me?"

"Isn't that what got us into this predicament in the first place?" Bo replied with a bright grin.

With this comment Lauren had to stop and grin back, before she moved back over and knelt down beside the still naked brunette.

"You... if I didn't have to go... I'd drive you." She whispered before planting a solid, hot kiss on Bo's mouth.

"And just how am I expected to settle to anything all day after that?" Bo complained as Lauren pulled back to put on her bra and search for a clean shirt, not putting it on but collecting things she needed for a quick trip to the bathroom.

"You're a succubus, I'm sure you deal with sexual desire all the time." Lauren stalled at the door for a moment before realizing she couldn't go to the bathroom like this. Trick was most certainly up and Kenzi might also be. She bent down to try to get her robe on quickly. "Just be dressed and ready to take me to work when I get back." She used a different phrase the brunette couldn't twist.

"I deal with sexual desire by having sex." Bo pouted laying back on the air mattress with a laugh. "How can I have sex with you if you're at work!" She called out loudly as Lauren slipped out, shaking her head and laughing more as the door clicked closed behind her lover.

The brunette laid there on her back for a moment, with the brightest smile on her face. The night before had been wonderful, amazing, more than amazing. Falling asleep with an exhausted Lauren in her arms had to be the best way she knew of to fall asleep, well no, there was one better and that was falling into an exhausted sleep with Lauren, but with her succubus drive and stamina that only happened when Lauren had a chance to prepare and rest up for it. But it actually felt to the succubus that after everything that had seemed to go so very wrong, slowly things were picking up again and getting better.

"Bow-chicka-wow-wow." The phrase came loudly from the doorway as the succubus' bestie danced her way into the cask room the next moment. "Ba bow bow, chicka chicka." She ad-libbed as she danced in a little circle in front of the air mattress. Still dressed in her pyjamas, her long dark hair still messy from sleep, Kenzi was beaming from ear to ear as she stopped her little groove and looked at Bo. Instantly putting her hand up to shield her eyes from the mostly naked and on show succubus. "Ew put it away, those I do not need to see before breakfast, or after for that matter."

"You're the one who didn't knock, and it's not like you haven't seen it before." Bo laughed but she did pull the sheet over her body. "Besides, girls don't do it for you remember?"

"Yes but not when they're all primed and ready for action." Kenzi peeked out from between her fingers. "Seriously girl did you not get enough, you could cut glass with those things."

Bo had to take a moment to just laugh and rest her head back on the pillow.

"I'm a succubus and I never get enough of Lauren." Bo managed to speak after a few moments. "How was your hooker-a-thon?"

"I think Poppa T switched my TV off at like two or something." Kenzi shrugged and sat down on the mattress. "It's great though, thanks babe." She smiled at her bestie with genuine honesty. "Lying around wasn't cutting it anymore, and though I still feel like crap, I feel like crap with a teacup full of energy." She crossed her legs and made herself a little more comfortable. "So how was the sparkly sex shack?" She added with a little lean forward and a brighter happier smile.

"It was great, thanks for helping." Bo smiled back at her. "And I know you hate being cooped up in here but it's what has to be for the moment." She underlined in a soft voice, reaching out to put her hand on Kenzi's leg. "With everything you went through Kenz, teacup full of energy is awesome. I'm so proud of you for being so strong." She admitted, knowing in her heart that the better her best friend was feeling the closer they were getting to having to explain to her what had happened to her in detail.

"Hey it's not like I could leave you to your own devises right? You'd be useless with out me." Kenzi smiled at Bo, her big blue eyes filled with heart warming affection. "So moving on to different less emotional topics for so early in the morning, what are you going to wear for your meeting this morning?"

"My meeting?" Bo's look was one of blank confusion.

"You've forgotten haven't you, I knew you would." Kenzi shook her head with a smile.

"I have no clue what you are talking about." The reclined brunette made the admission.

"You have a meeting with one of the Light Fae elders at eleven o'clock today at the Hilton. Don't remember which one, but I got the reminder this morning on my phone." The raven haired girl smiled. "Told you babe, you'd be a mess without me." She leaned forward and patted Bo's leg beneath the sheet. "You just about have time to drive your sexed up girl to work, drive to the crack shack, take a shower, pick out an outfit, do your hair and drive downtown."

"I know I would be a mess without you." Bo grinned at her, though she was slightly annoyed at herself for ever making the arrangements to meet with the various Fae who wanted the Champion's attention. "Do you have a name for this guy?" She rolled finally out of bed towards some clothes.

"Nice ass." Kenzi gave a whistle. "It's on my scheduler." She nodded as she let herself drop to lie on her stomach on the air mattress. "I think I pushed a bit hard yesterday, I'm all puppy tired today, it's a day in bed with hookers for me I think, remember that when you're out with the schmoozing and the boozing without me."

"You need to take it easy today, have a nap every hour or so." Bo smiled at her pulling on a shirt. "I'll bring you back something from the Hilton, I'm sure whoever this old fae is they can afford to get you take out."

"Awesome." Kenzi rolled over onto her back letting Bo throw some clothes on ready to put the day's plan into motion.

-x-

The walk to the small street corner cafe had been made in silence, the wolf and the harpy walking some distance apart, both of them taking notice of more or less everything else but each other. When they had arrived, two coffees had been ordered, again with no casual banter and then they had each taken their own and chosen to sit on the high stools that were lined up against the thin window perch. They sat there for a long moment with the drinks just leaning on the thin wooden shelf, each watching the street through the glass, when eventually the blonde tipped her head slightly. She didn't turn to look at Dyson, or in any way focus on him to address him, just shifted her focus on the street beyond.

"Just so you know I know you're not happy to have a new partner, and I know you're not happy I'm a woman." She laid out rather plainly. "I'm not happy with either of those facts either. But I've been sent here for a reason and we both have to just put up with that."

"I know we do and I'm willing to work at it if you are." Dyson put forward. "There is usually a lot going on around here that needs good police work, and from what they gave me of your file you do good work." He turned his head to stop looking at the street and to look at her. "And I'm guessing you've heard lots about me but try to keep an open mind, things were going on outside of my control, but I'm back to normal now."

"Normal?" Tamsin quirked a well shaped eyebrow. "There is no such thing." She shook her head and also stopped looking out of the window. "Do you have much Dark Fae trouble here?" She asked picking up a spoon and slowly drawing round in a circle through her coffee.

"A fair amount." Dyson admitted the truth. "The peace is always being tested by one thing or another and the Morrigan likes to cause disruptions."

"And the rogue Succubus, is she as much as a problem as they say?" The blonde queried tapping her spoon on the side of her cup, though she had added no sugar to the drink so quite why she had gone through the procedure was uncertain.

"Her name is Bo, and she is more of a problem solver then a problem." He couldn't help but stick up for the brunette. "You can make your own assessment when you meet her."

"And are you fucking her this month or not? That kind of detail got hard to keep up with." Tamsin tossed the spoon onto the surface in front of them. "I'm leaning towards are from the instant defensive stance you took when I asked about her, but you never know with wolves, they tend to have a loyal streak with things they've pissed on once."

"And even for a harpy you seem to have no sense of tact." The wolf narrowed his eyes at her for a moment and then sighed looking back out the window. Hale's instructions to play nice echoing in his ears. "No, Bo and I are just friends now." He tried to deal with the issue head on. "But yes I am protective over her, so is the Ash." He added wanting her to start to understand early the way Bo played into everything. "Anything about your love life I should know about?" He turned it around on her.

"I don't usually ask for names." Tamsin looked at him with those slate grey eyes slightly narrowed. "But I'll let you know if that changes, if she's free I remember succubi can be fun."

"She's not." Dyson shook his head. "And you aren't ready for someone like Bo. She grew up among the humans, she isn't like any Fae you've ever encountered, Succubi or not."

"A succubus is always free." A bright laugh came from the Harpy as she shook her head. "It's sounding a lot like I'm exactly what this Bo needs, a real Fae who isn't going to treat her with kid gloves."

This made Dyson laugh back in both amusement and disgust if he was honest.

"You could try, but I'll bet you fifty she turns you down." Dyson took a long sip from his coffee.

"A hundred sees me telling you exactly how she sounds when she..." Tamsin stopped, a sparkle gleaming in her grey eyes. "If you know how that sounds of course to verify."

"A weeks wages." Dyson turned to look at her with the counter offer. "And I do know, in case somehow the sky falls and she's willing to bed you."

"A weeks wages and you do all the paper work for the probation period that she not only rides me for hours but that I can get her to let me mark her, nothing permanent just a token for the bed post." Tamsin pushed the wager higher.

"And when she turns you down flat, a weeks wages and you do the paper work." Dyson stuck out his hand again, but this time when she shook it he didn't hold back and squeezed just as much as she did.

-x-

Kenzi was bored. Her hand throbbed from playing too long and there was nothing on the TV that kept her interest for longer than a few moments. Trick was busy out in the back and she didn't like to interrupt him when he was back there because it subtly suggested to her that he was doing 'important' stuff. Whatever that might mean to a Fae as old and as important as the Blood King. Bo was out at her lunch date with the Light fae elder, no doubt bored out of her mind as well, but at least she had free food and alcohol to help pass the time.

Technically while she had both of those as well, Lauren had more or less put a block on the alcohol. Asking her if it was at all possible to not drink, but if it was absolutely necessary try to limit herself to one or two beers maximum until she was much more recovered and had begun to gain weight.

Of course the blonde was at the compound working and she had already left a message with Kenzi to pass on to Bo that the young woman knew her best friend wouldn't be happy about. The doctor was going to be home late from the compound in an attempt to make up for the time she had missed by being late in that morning. The blonde wasn't expecting to get home before eight and Kenzi could only begin to imagine Bo's reaction to that when she eventually got free from her luncheon.

Slipping off the bed Kenzi wandered over to the bar and looked at all the bottles of alcohol lined up neatly on the shelves and briefly thought about just stealing one of them and taking it back to bed with her. It was only the internal revelation that she actually felt too crappy and didn't want to regress into feeling any crappier that made her hesitate and then decide against the move. Even though she was, she decided thirsty. She wasn't however in the mood for fountain pop or anything funky that came in a can from one of the little fridges.

Kenzi mused for a moment about what to do about her predicament and chuckled at the irony. She was in a bar but couldn't find anything in it she wanted to drink. She then had the brilliant revelation that there was a Seven Eleven just at the corner up the street that had a slushie machine, and sold pick your own candy. The young woman's mind was made up in an instant.

With a glance down at her PJ's to check that they weren't too obviously indoor only PJ's she moved to push her feet into Bo's sneakers that were neatly lined up near to the front door of the Dal. The succubus' running hoody was hung up on the coat rack just above them, which was Kenzi's second stroke of luck as she reached up to pull it down, shoving her arms into it quickly and zipping it up.

It wasn't that Kenzi didn't know that she wasn't supposed to leave the Dal, she did, everyone had been through it with her, several times. Not in any real detail though, they had all just underlined to her that Thistle's work wasn't complete and she needed to stay in the safety and sanctity of the Dal until it was. There had been mentions of souls, and of open wounds and of great danger, but it had all sounded a little too sci-fi to the young woman and after all she was only nipping to the Seven Eleven. What dangerous soul sucking Fae hung out at the Seven Eleven? With any luck she could be out of there and back with her sugary icy treats before anyone noticed she had even gone.

With a conspiratorial smile Kenzi reached up and flipped the main lock off the front door of the Dal and pulled it open, moving to take a step into the street beyond.

Before she could move across the threshold a low ominous growl filled the entire bar, indeed the whole street it seemed. It was so intense that the young woman swore it made the glass of water that was on the table near her medical bed shake. Bringing blue eyes up to look out into what should have been an empty downtown street, Kenzi instead found herself staring into two huge red eyes and a slobbering mouth full of teeth. A second growl filled the air, its source now obvious as it came right from the snarling jaws of the hulking barghest that was filling the doorway.

"TRICK! POPPA T!" Kenzi stepped backwards, tripping over her own feet in the process, sending her tumbling to the floor on her ass.

The large unearthly dog never moved into the bar, merely stood on the threshold, its eyes on Kenzi's as she crawled backwards on her ass away from the door.

"HELP!" She called louder than before.

For his part, Trick had been perched at his desk reading important notes and documents and as soon as he'd heard Kenzi's scream he was up and racing as fast as he could upstairs. When he finally arrived there he saw the young brunette on the floor, the door to the Dal still wide open. But in his initial look he couldn't see anything else that would be of any concern.

"Kenzi? What are you doing? Did you get dizzy?" He moved over to her, worried about her condition.

"Big Fricking Demon Dog." Kenzi pointed at the door, her blue eyes as wide as saucers.

"Dog?" Trick moved his eyes to look at the door but he initially saw nothing. Then as he looked back at Kenzi it dawned on him what it might be. "Does this dog have red eyes?" He questioned pushing back up onto his feet and moving to the door to slowly shut it and lock it again.

"Why are you asking? It's right there..." Kenzi's voice went to a high squeak when Trick went close to the door to close it, petering off when he did so and locked it without seeming to be at all concerned. "Okay that was weird." She added with a hard frown. "Why didn't you seem to see Cujo?"

"Let's get you back in bed and I will explain." Trick's voice was warm and reassuring as he helped her up and back to the bed before he spoke again. He fussed with the blankets a little and checked that she hadn't done any damage to her hand before he finally looked her in the eye again. "I didn't see the dog Kenzi, because I was not meant to see him. He is a barghest and he is here to protect you, and keep you within the area in which its mistress has made safe for you."

"Wait, that thing is one of the good guys?" Kenzi could feel her heart still pounding hard in her chest.

"I wouldn't go that far, he is the servant of his mistress and his mistress alone. Any other will only be protected if Thistle wishes them to be." He gave her a soft look knowing all of this was hard for her to understand. "Right now you are under her protection and the barghest will serve his mistress, which meant keeping you in here. Where were you going anyway?" He asked with a slightly disappointed frown.

"To the Seven Eleven, I wanted a slushie and some candy." Kenzi pouted slightly feeling instantly sad considering the look of disappointment she had caused. "I got myself into some serious shit with the Norn didn't I?" She asked of the Blood King with an uneven frown.

"Yes Kenzi you did." He reached out and took her bandaged hand. "This wound, it isn't just in your flesh... it reached deep inside you, into your soul. That is the reason you must remain in the Dal, where protection has been created for you. If you had gone to the Seven Eleven, any number of entities may have tried to re-invade your body and in your weakened state even Thistle would not have been able to remove them."

Kenzi's head dropped as she felt the sudden weight of reality settle against her.

"I'm sorry." She looked up just a enough to catch Trick's eye.

"There is no reason to be sorry, what is done is done and while I know this waiting seems hard to you, the hardest part is in fact behind you." He gave her a soft smile. "You just have to promise me you won't try to leave again."

"Don't leave, got it." Kenzi nodded and let out a sad breath as she leaned back against her pillows the weight of everything she had been through feeling heavy on her again suddenly, along with the fact that in reality it wasn't even over.

-x-


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faery Tale", the fourth story in an AU plot line.

Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)

**No Faete But What We Make: Chapter Four**

**By: The Rainbowwriters**

Bo was tired as she pushed through the door to the Dal and closed it behind her. Her meeting with the Light Fae elder had been epically boring. Not that she had expected anything less, but she hadn't really wanted it to live up to all of her worst expectations. She had nevertheless spent the last several hours listening to the retelling of old stories which probably no longer resembled anything like the truth from which they were birthed. Each had stared either the 'generous' elder hosting the luncheon for her or one of his highly esteemed and ultimately worthy kin, every one of which also seemed to be at the meal.

In the end, the small lunch meeting had proved to be set for no less than twenty three members of his clan. All of which had dressed up for the occasion, making Bo's stylish but undressed choice of a flowing red silk top and tight black leather pants, topped with a long tailed black suede coat.

There had of course been a meal provided, the only highlight which Bo had politely enjoyed while listening to story after story. The history lesson was only broken up when the conversation turned to reasons why she should pledge her allegiance to the Light and come 'into the fold' as he liked to call it. He listed over and over to her the benefits of such a choice, both in the short and long term.

He had even had the audacity to mention Lauren on one occasion, which got him a glare and a raised eyebrow immediately from the family that were gathered with them, as if to suggest that this wasn't a suitable over dinner topic for the conversation to branch into. The unaligned Succubus' soft spot for the blonde human doctor known by the younger family members from the extensive Fae rumour mill.

In short, Bo had come away some five hours later with a slightly aching head, a large doggy bag of treats of the restaurants most famous dishes for Kenzi and dozen more reasons to never join the Light. Or the realization at least if she did, she would have to spend her time avoiding gatherings of old Fae desperate to entertain her with old anecdotes about their families victories over ancient evil.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, she had gotten out of said meeting only to pick up a text message from Lauren explaining that she was staying late at the compound to 'make up' for being late that morning. On top of that the blonde had outlined that she may even stay over at one of the compound residences if it got ridiculously late or she got involved in something that just had to have her attention. Bo had nearly just tossed her phone at the closest wall and screamed obscenities at it when she had read the message but had instead just got into the car and driven back to the Dal hoping that the new found sense of 'home' that it begun to develop would ease her terrible mood.

The atmosphere in the Dal however was subtly different to the warm, comfortable one the succubus had so quickly grown used to of late. For a moment Bo thought it was due to her and the attitude she had brought in with her, but she quickly shrugged that off when she looked up to see Trick and Kenzi sat at the bar. The young woman was slouched somewhat in her place, nursing a cup of coffee and her grandfather's head had come up to look at the door the instant Bo had slipped inside with an unreadable look.

Instantly the succubus' thoughts and reactions went into hyper drive,with everything that had gone on with and since the Garuda she just couldn't moderate her emotions that well. At moments like these Bo still felt like she was living on a knife edge. She felt her feet moving quickly from the door to the bar, her hand coming to rest lightly on Kenzi's shoulder the instant she was close enough.

"What's wrong? Are you sick? Trick?" Brown eyes flicked to look at the Blood King while the succubus' hand stayed on her best friend's shoulder unconsciously stroking over it lightly in a comforting motion. She noted that Kenzi was in one of her running hoodies, another bad sign.

"No, she's fine Bo." Trick tried to keep his voice warm and reassuring as he let his eyes briefly glance to Kenzi who didn't immediately offer an explanation. Clearly this was because the younger woman didn't want to have to admit to her best friend she'd tried to leave the Dal despite all the instructions she'd been given not too. "Kenzi had a little fright earlier, that's all. She met Thistle's barghest."

"Thistle's back?" Bo's eyes darted around the bar briefly coming to the logical but inaccurate conclusion.

"No." Trick corrected her quickly. "But her companion is keeping guard outside the door of the Dal, which Kenzi's inadvertently found out when she attempted to go to Seven Eleven for a..." He looked at the younger woman again. "Shush?"

"Slushie." Kenzi's head was still mainly lowered as she whispered the word.

"What?!" Bo pulled her hand free from off Kenzi's shoulder and turned to fully look at her best friend. "Kenzi what were you thinking? How many times have we told you you can't leave the Dal, you're safe here."

"I just wanted to get some air, I've been cooped up in this place forever." Kenzi's words tried to make a vague argument for her misbehaviour but her face showed how 'sorry' she was for it already. "I didn't think anything bad could happen if I just went a half block to the store, that was until I was stared down by Cujo's twice as scary older brother demon dog." She admitted how much the event had shaken her.

"I think perhaps we all misjudged how much better Kenzi is feeling." Trick tried to offer a slim branch of support to her and his granddaughter. "Why don't I put this on a proper plate while you two talk?" He kept his loving eyes on Bo. "You can explain to her why her Fae Doctor has a barghest for a start." He offered knowing he hadn't done much to answer the questions visibly swirling around Kenzi's head, but it was something he knew that Bo should do. After all only the Succubus could judge what parts of Kenzi's ordeal should be revealed to her in detail and what parts should be lost to history.

Bo frowned slightly as she lifted the 'doggy bag' over to Trick before reaching out and putting her hand on her best friend's knee.

"Do you want to talk about this?" She asked of Kenzi letting go of a slightly tight breath that she had been holding. "It's a big conversation Kenz." She added, her face softly crumpled in a saddened frown.

"I'm being held at the new Dal medical centre, and there's a demon dog outside that is there to 'help' keep me safe." Kenzi made little in the air quotation marks, her own mouth pulling into a frown. "I know it's big, I guess I've been trying to avoid knowing how big but maybe it's at least time for the basics." She gave a soft sigh. "The way Trick made it sound, just by me leaving the bar something could possess me, like in the exorcist. Did I spit green pea soup at everybody?" She tried to make a slight joke but her own enthusiasm was lost.

Bo took another breath and then moved around the back of Kenzi's seat sliding her arm around her best friend's shoulders.

"Let's go talk about it." She encourage the younger woman to move off her chair in the hopes of guiding her towards one of the more comfortable seating areas. "I want to tell you everything you need to know okay." She said honestly. "But there are parts that you..." She paused. "You don't need to know, okay?" She smiled at Kenzi as the thin young woman slipped off her chair. "It's not that I don't want to tell you them, it's just you don't need to know them, they happened, they're over. They're never going to happen again, never going to hurt you again." She paused and made sure she could look into Kenzi's eyes. "Okay?"

"I trust you Bo." Kenzi did manage to find some volume in this statement as she slid into a booth and pulled her legs up to her chest watching the Succubus settle in across from her. "I know that probably the only reason I'm here right now is because of you." Her face showed easily how much she believed this, almost as much as she loved the Succubus. "Whatever happened."

"There is just so much to tell you." Bo reached up and rubbed her hand to her forehead briefly. "I don't even know how much you remember, Lauren says that you probably don't remember too much about the last..." She stopped herself when she realized how out of context what she had been about to say would have sounded to Kenzi. "What's the last thing you really remember, before waking up here? The club house sometime maybe?" She gave Kenzi some idea of what the answer might be, for at least a guide as to how to play this.

Kenzi closed her eyes for a moment trying to order the snippets of images and memories she had.

"Lauren was at the clubhouse, staying, because I was going to start the investigation but... I was coming down with the flu or something. I couldn't sleep and I was hungry all the time..." Kenzi opened her eyes as the moment started to clear more. "I had a nose bleed in the middle of the night, Lauren was freaking out about it, but I thought it was nothing... everything after that..." She put her hand up to her head. "It's like someone got me some acid from the 60's, the good stuff the government used to dose people with in those research movies. Everything after that is... weird. I can't make sense of it."

"You didn't have a nosebleed." Bo shook her head. "At the time we thought that but we were wrong." The succubus sighed softly. "Things started getting weirder for all of us Kenz at the club house, which eventually forced us to bail because of what happened to you, because of what we thought the thing in the club house did to you."

"Bo..." Kenzi looked at the Succubus sitting up a bit straighter. "I can tell there's a lot you don't want to tell me, but we all left the clubhouse? You thought there was a thing in the clubhouse? Hurting me? None of that makes a lot of sense, did another spider get in?"

"No, you saw things, in the basement." Bo clarified the point. "Then I came down and found you unconscious and covered in blood." Brown eyes glanced up to look at the other woman quickly.

"And we left the clubhouse?" Kenzi nodded that now it made a little more sense at least.

"Lauren wanted to check you out, she had all the things she needed at her place." Bo explained the very logical reason for the move. "Plus with what we thought was probably at the club house getting everyone away from it seemed like the right thing to do."

"But it wasn't?" Kenzi put in the obvious question.

"Not really." Bo shook her head. "Because it wasn't something in the club house, it was something in you Kenzi, something that had gotten into your body when you had gone to the Norn. But we didn't know that because, well you hadn't told anyone that anything bad had happened with the Norn." Bo frowned softly. "Apart from my grandfather who is all too good at keeping secrets." She frowned harder.

"The Norn? The reason I'm like this is because of the Norn?" Kenzi's eyes narrowed for a moment. "I so wish I'd cut another cord of wood off that damn tree."

"You're never going anywhere near her again." Bo put down the ultimatum with a shake of her head. "So..." She took a quick breath to focus herself again, after all she hadn't been expecting to have to do this right now, in fact she hadn't been expecting to do this. Yes, she had known that Kenzi had to be told, but it had been one of those things she had some how been expecting to just happen, not that she would actually have to do. Especially as it was potentially so, well traumatic. "Lauren took you to her place, while I searched the club house and worked with other people to try and figure out what was going on."

"But there wasn't anything in the clubhouse, there was something in me." Kenzi put together the small detail. "What was in me Bo?" A visible shiver went down her spine.

"A Ghoul." Bo made the reveal, looking over to her best friend with soft brown eyes.

"Like Halloween Goblins and Ghouls?" Kenzi's response was a little, well, blank as she couldn't wrap her head around what this meant in a Fae context.

"More like a not technically from this dimension underfae that lives to spread deadly disease and chaos." Bo clarified for her bestie.

"Continue..." Kenzi's voice squeaked as she reached to pull her legs tighter to her chest, finally having a name for the slight chill she felt inside her.

Bo nodded, though her eyes were on her best friend watching her reaction carefully.

"Well thanks to information we got from Trick and details Lauren was able to ascertain scientifically..." Bo glossed over the details, "We worked out what had happened to you and my grandfather knew of and was able to find a fae, one of the only fae left that could take the ghoul out of you. Lauren made sure that it couldn't hurt you any more that it already had physically." She pointed out. "Which is where Thistle comes in, as she is the Harvester." She reminded Kenzi of the facts she did already know. "Harvesters are ancient Fae Kenzi who have the power to draw out a creature's soul, their essence, and well, harvest it I guess." She summed up. "Thistle did that to you, but put you back inside your body, stripping off the ghoul essence when she did it, curing you from the possession."

"The redhead with the glowing eyes?" Kenzi checked that the memory flash she did have of this woman, one she didn't particularly feel afraid of, was right.

"Yes." Bo nodded again but then frowned softly. "But it's a little complicated." She hesitated slightly. "And this bit hasn't got anything to do with you, or the Ghoul or the Norn." The succubus shook her head. "Harvester Fae are rare, that is they're... well basically extinct."

"But Poppa Trick found one for me?" Kenzi couldn't help but have a soft smile of thanks spread over her features.

"He did." Bo smiled back and nodded for a moment wondering if she should just forget what she had been going to tell Kenzi about the horrible history her grandfather had with the Fae that had saved her life. But then she remembered who her friend was, and more importantly what she was, and that was a talker and she needed to know this couldn't be talked about. "But Kenzi, you can't talk about Thistle when this is over, because technically her existence is, well, illegal."

"Illegal?" Kenzi had to repeat the word. "Oh right, that explains why the Dal was turned into a hospital and I'm not at the compound." She gave another nod. "Is that why Hale hasn't been by to see me?"

"Exactly." Bo smiled a more genuine and relaxed smile. "Hundreds of years ago a cull was ordered on Thistle and her Kin." She explained a little more. "A royal decree that rewarded gold for Harvester heads." She went on knowing her best friend would catch on sooner than later.

"As in royal like the Blood King?" Kenzi cut her off with a surprised look and Bo answered her with just a look and a sad nod. "So Trick and Thistle have hard core history? And he still called her?" Her confusion was more about that issue than anything.

"He loves you." Bo reached across the table and put her hand on Kenzi's knee and squeezed it tightly. "It's hard for him believe me." She admitted with a nod. "But he knows it was the right thing to have done. The harvest was a success, but and this is why you have to stay here until Thistle returns, until she seals the wound on your arm, there is still an opening to your soul, that certain fae can manipulate." The succubus explained the serious issue. "And I for one do not want another Ghoul fest." She smiled brightly.

"Me too, I mean I like being skinny but this is getting too Kate Moss-ish for even me." Kenzi tried to find a joke in the otherwise bleak history of what had happened to her. "But I totally get it now, no leaving the Dal, for anything, let alone a stupid slushie." She nodded her head and then pushed up moving around the table to the side where Bo was. "Thank you." She said softly and leaned out hugging her best friend tightly, the embrace showing how while at the same time the news scared her it also helped her understand the seriousness of what was going on and how much the people around her had done to save her.

"Like I said there are bits I missed out." Bo closed her arms around Kenzi and held her tight, she took a deep breath as she kept Kenzi close. "Because you don't need to know details, though one thing you'd probably want to know is that, when you... when the Ghoul you was out and in charge, you... There was a complication with Lauren."

"With Lauren? Oh please don't tell me I tried to kill the Doc?" Kenzi didn't pull back instead she cuddled closer to the Succubus savouring the physical contact. "I remember... in the bits and pieces... I remember her being with me a lot... I hoped..." She didn't finish giving a noise that showed how afraid she was that she'd tried to do something to her best friend's lover.

"Kenz it's okay, in fact something really amazing came out of it." Bo actually eased Kenzi back to look at her blue eyes. "Yes Lauren got sick, but it's okay because I healed her." She gave her best friend a stunning smile.

"You healed her but I thought you could only heal you?" Kenzi's look of confusion was evident.

"Kenzi it was amazing." Bo's smile was intense. "I found out my great grandmother was a healer, and she left me this orb." Her explanation was brief but hit all the important highlights. "And we don't really know how yet, but I healed her, we made love and..." She literally beamed. "And she was better, no plague, no typhoid not even the scratches were left."

"I have always said no one should doubt the power of your crotch babe." Kenzi smiled back at her the euphoric feeling a bit contagious, much like the list of diseases she now realized Ghoul her had been carrying to infect Lauren with in the first place. "Can I admit I'm tired now?" She made the soft admission. "I've been trying to be all go get em Kenzi, ra ra ra, but now that I have an idea of what I had inside me. Well like Linda Blair I need some down time to recover."

"Of course you do." Bo pulled Kenzi in for another softer hug. "Kenz, I really thought I was going to lose you, you can take all the time you need to recover. I'll even get... I don't know fake turf in here if I have to, maybe some bushes or something so you don't feel so cooped up?" She tried to empathize with her best friend. "All that matters is that you are safe and that you are getting better."

"I'll deal." Kenzi shook her head. "If everyone could go through all of that, I can put up with being stuck in a bar. I mean come on, could you ever imagine me complaining about being stuck in a bar? Ever? Clearly I am still recovering." She grinned and pulled up to stand. "Think Trick will mind if I have my snacks in bed?" She moved towards her hospital bed.

"Of course he won't. Let me check on your Hilton snack pack." Bo smiled and watched as the younger woman shuffled to and got into the large bed, before she got up and moved to the bar area and slipped out back to find where her grandfather had disappeared off to.

The succubus found her grandfather sat at his antique desk, jotting at his journal and he stopped writing at her approach. As always he had anticipated that their talk could take some time, and while the food was ready in his kitchen he was making sure that he didn't interrupt anything between the two of them.

"How did it go?" He asked of her gently as he laid the pen down and turned to give her his full attention.

"Oh you know, it's a lot to take in, and I think I did a pretty bad job, I wasn't exactly ready." Bo admitted her own shortcomings easily. "She's really tired, I think the barghest experience scared her and all the information, it's been a little over whelming." She added with a frown.

"As she has shown in the all to recent past Bo, Kenzi is a fighter, stronger perhaps than many Fae that I have known over the years." He complimented the raven haired girl lightly.

"She says she doesn't remember anything that happened, I hope she was being honest." Bo admitted with the same frown.

"It's very likely that she rememberes only bits and pieces, images that she's not able to fully focus on in her mind. The Ghoul's power wouldn't have exactly wanted to share consciousness with her in any capacity." He gave her a soft smile. "I'm sure you what you told her is enough for now, there will be time, lots of time to deal with the rest of it when everyone is more prepared. Sometimes Bo..." He looked at her with a more serious gaze. "The hardest part of being someone's friend is to not tell them the things they don't need to hear, but think they want too."

"Are you perhaps talking about me?" Bo turned the statement round on her grandfather gently.

"Yes." He gave a soft nod. "I hope you can understand why at times I have kept information from you, until you were really ready to hear."

Bo let out a relatively hard sigh as she moved a little more into the room and leaned up against the mantle reaching out to play with the edge of the Niagara photo frame that she had given him. He had moved it to sit up there and stand along side the beautiful etching of his wife. The style clashing so horribly with the antique wood carving that it made Bo smile and almost brought her instantly to the point of tears.

"I understand that you felt you had to make decisions, that you needed to keep things hidden." Bo nodded. "And I know that I am impulsive and reactionary, and I don't make being told things easy." She gave the older fae all the praise she could.

"And I am an old Fae, used to keeping secrets and not very good at telling stories about myself." He added wanting her to understand that it wasn't just because of her that he had chosen to act in the way he had.

"You so should hang around Light Fae Elders more often, they just love to talk about the past and their exploits." Bo rolled her eyes and smiled actually managing to chuckle slightly.

"It is one of the reasons I avoid them." Trick admitted pushing up and moving over closer to her. He looked from the etching to the photograph and back to Bo, before giving a soft sigh that turned into a smile. "The first time I met your grandmother, my Ysabeau, was at Beltane..." His smile broadened a little. "Which to explain to you is an ancient festival celebrating the spring and the coming planting. She had every colour of ribbon I had ever seen in her hair, with bells fastened to the ends, so everywhere she walked there was a symphony."

Bo too glanced at the two images side by side on the mantle and smiled at the memory that her grandfather drew to the forefront for them both to picture.

"Did she give you any play?" She chose the worst possible phrase she could deliberately.

"Oh no." Trick had to shake his head with a soft laugh. "Unlike today, a Lady didn't reveal her secrets at just a glance or a look. A young man had to work for her attention and affections, especially when that woman was one as beautiful as my Ysabeau. I spent the entire festival trying to compete with the other young males at the various sports, but I was never good at archery and I am clearly not that skilled on a horse." He gestured to himself. "But what I didn't know that night, when I went back to my bed alone..." He stressed the point. "Was that it wasn't my success that impressed her, but my efforts, my tenacity. The next day I received a courier who bore a letter from her with one of those ribbons."

"That's so romantic." Bo beamed at her grandfather truly caught up in the almost dream like quality of the story. "Are there still Fae that can make these?" The succubus asked reaching out and picking up the etching of her grandmother.

"Oh yes, the art has not been lost to our people." Trick nodded, pleased that the small memory had been well received by his granddaughter.

"Do you think maybe you could find someone?" She kept the one of Ysabeau in her hand as she asked the question. "A pair would be nice don't you think?" She said putting it back and picking up the Niagara shot. "To replace this." She held the souvenir frame with a smile.

"I will arrange a sitting when Kenzi is healthy." Trick's smile could only be described as beaming.

-x-


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faery Tale", the fourth story in an AU plot line.

Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)

**No Faete But What We Make: Chapter Five**

**By: The Rainbowwriters**

Bo laid on her back staring up at the twinkling lights that were strung up in the cask room with a soft sigh and then flipped over on her side. She'd already tried every body position she knew of to see if she could sleep, but rest was elusive. Finally reminding herself there was no one there to judge her, she reached for the blonde's pillow that lay untouched beside her and pulled it to her, tucking it under her head before nuzzling her nose into it momentarily and breathing in.

The soft smell of Lauren's natural scent, shampoo mixed with perfume and hormones, filled her senses but made the ache she felt inside her even worse. Pushing the pillow away the succubus rolled back onto her back and breathed out a harder sigh. She just knew that she wasn't going to sleep, no matter how hard she tried to will herself into unconscious slumber.

Defeated, she picked up her phone and slid off the screen lock to check the time. It was only just after two in the morning, meaning this was going to be the longest night on record for her. Her main problem being the distinct lack of Lauren.

Skipping down to her message app, Bo sent a quick note off to her lover just to test if the doctor was also awake. She had received a text at just after ten from the blonde saying that something had 'cropped up' in the lab and that she was probably compound bound for the night. That simple message had capped off what had been a very low key evening for the succubus.

Kenzi hadn't really come around after their long hard chat, the weight of the 'what if's' and omitted facts seeming to weigh on her. To Bo's happiness she'd at least continued to nibble some snacks and they managed to loose themselves in a few hours of TV critique.

As the evening began to turn to night, Trick had offered to make Bo something to eat but she was still feeling over full from her day at the Hilton. Instead on Kenzi's prompting, she'd gone for a run and brought back the younger woman the elusive slushie that had led to so much being revealed. The two of them returning to watching TV, until Kenzi's light snoring told Bo her that the other brunette was fast asleep. She'd quietly turned off the set, her grandfather already having retired to his lower rooms, and moved through to 'sleep' alone on the air mattress.

Holding the phone in her hand for a long moment, waiting to see if Lauren would message her right back, Bo considered calling Dyson. After all she had expected to have heard from the wolf about how his first day back had gone, but then again he was probably trying to play nicely with the new and exciting Detective Nelson. Though if she was honest with herself, she was curious to know how it was going for him given his own hard ass reputation. But she also knew right now that the wolf probably needed space from her as much as she needed it from him as he tried to re-integrate into his mangled career.

Another moment passed before Bo's cellphone sounded and a return message appeared from the doctor. It questioned why Bo wasn't asleep yet and mentioned that she was waiting for one more test result before she went to bed herself.

Bo read the text with a smile shifting to lay on her stomach as instead of texting a reply she called the blonde's number.

"You should be asleep." The response came almost immediately after the first ring, Lauren's voice soft and playfully admonishing.

"I'm in bed." Bo replied deliberately making her voice sound as pouty as just sound would allow.

"That's a start, I wish I was there with you." Lauren made the admission easily, as it was true. While it did feel good to be back working at her lab without an apocalypse type event baring down on them, the first place she wanted to be was of course with Bo. "Is Kenzi alright?" She checked, knowing it was another reason why she wished she was there with her lover.

"She was tired today, she did a lot yesterday." Bo decided against tell Lauren the revelations of the day on the phone. "Out like a light before the Late Show." The succubus revealed the facts. "I miss you." She made the admission just as easily as the blonde had made hers. "I could come and pick you up if you're too tired to drive back to the Dal?"

"Normally I would say yes, but I have to be back in here first thing again." Lauren tried to explain the dilemma she was in. "It's just for tonight." She tried to soothe the issue softly.

"But it's the night after last night, and last night was..." Bo literally purred into the phone. "After that I'm not sure I can be on my own."

"You are insatiable." Lauren actually gave a giggle, as in her lab she leaned more onto her workbench, memories of the night before very vivid in her mind.

"I'm a succubus, isn't that a good thing? A sign that I'm working perfectly, that all systems are A-okay?" Bo's grin could clearly be heard in her tone. "Really Lauren I'm lying here in the sparkly sex shack and I'm alone." She stressed the word. "What are you wearing?"

"Come pick me up." Lauren didn't answer the question, giving another giggle. "My test should be finished by the time you get here."

"Really?" Bo rolled onto her back and pushed to sit up in one easy move, "Or you know if it's easier I could stay there, we found out today that Thistle left her barghest here at the Dal as backup so for a night maybe I could play hookie." The succubus was already off the bed and wiggling into a pair of tight pants.

"I'll leave that decision up to you." Lauren didn't want to tear Bo away from Kenzi, she could never be that selfish so the choice had to be the brunette's alone. But, she did reason to herself, a barghest left by Thistle would nearly guarantee Kenzi's safety from most things Fae she could even think of, and she could think of a lot.

-x-

It wasn't that Hale had cut down on security in and around the lab, he had just improved on it dramatically. He had introduced the use of new technology which had initially proved frustrating to Bo. The usual door that she used to gain entrance to the lab now changed out for an electronically locked double reinforced security door, with a large card reading unit poised to the side and instructions that if you did not possess a pass card you must report to the main reception. The whole point underlined by the red lettering on the door that read simply 'Restricted Zone'.

Her attempt to get to Lauren without causing major hassle for the Doctor or the Ash was almost stumped until the restricted door opened and a Fae that she recognized emerged almost bumping into her.

Their exchange had been cordial and friendly, Bo pointing out that she was just about to phone Lauren who she was supposed to be meeting with to get some case information in the hopes that Darla, a name that had taken her some time to remember, would turn and unlock the door for her. The technician did one better, producing a yellow colour coded visitors' pass card from her pocket, and explained to Bo that there was a series of such doors she would now have to go through in order to get anywhere near the inner areas of the lab. The ineffective manned stations that had so often held up laboratory business, had all been replaced with security doors that would allow the lab to be sectioned off in various configurations in the case of an emergency or at worse a breech of the compound.

With her shiny new pass card Bo made it through the interior security quicker than normal and seeing as Darla had also told her where to find Lauren, she was soon able to watch the blonde through a large observation window that looked into the room she was working in. Bo stood there for a few long minutes watching the blonde work before even thinking of interrupting her. The guilty pleasure of getting to watch the Doctor in her element adding to the ache she'd been keep awake by earlier.

The brunette watched as Lauren tidied away a few things into the various cabinets in the room, putting away slides and samples that she had on the desk with the over sized microscope she had obviously recently been using. Every so often she would pause to tuck her hair behind her ear or check the slim phone in her lab coat pocket.

'Probably wondering where I am.' Bo thought with a smile as she continued to watch as the blonde would then move back to her task of tidying, even going so far as to straightening the light blue sheet that covered the bottom half of the full sized examination table. The last action being Bo's cue that it was a good time to interrupt the Doctor.

Finally having had enough of watching her lover at work, being so fastidious and efficient Bo raised her hand and knocked loudly on the door, a beaming smile on her face as she waited in the corridor outside for permission to enter the strictly private room. She doubted her visitor pass would even open it if she had tried.

The door was pulled open seconds later by the blonde, who was wearing a bright smile despite the late hour.

"How did you get in here? I was expecting a text when you got to the new security entrance." Lauren smirked at her, as always impressed by Bo's ability to make things happen that quite frankly shouldn't.

"I have my ways, not to mention my shiny pass card." Bo held up the slim card with a grin. "Hmm God you look gorgeous." She added stepping into the room with Lauren and wrapping her arm around the slender blonde, pulling her closer. "Who would have thought the way to a succubus' heart was a lab coat?"

"Not something I've found in a book, but in real life it seems to apply." Lauren let her body be pulled close to the brunette, looping her arms loosely around Bo's shoulders. "We should keep it a secret though."

"Well I won't tell anyone if you don't." Bo made the offer leaning to press her lips to Lauren's neck briefly. "Did you get the results you needed?" The succubus leaned back a little but kept her arm at Lauren's waist purposely not repeating the kiss yet.

"Yes, I've caught up on everything the Ash desperately needs for tomorrow." Lauren smiled showing her pleasure with her own work, though she was concentrating more and more on Bo's very arousing flirty touches and kisses.

"So you're more focused now on my desperate needs?" Bo smirked as she brought her other hand to play with the open material at Lauren's collar.

"Tell me about your desperate needs?" Lauren purposely purred the question, feeling as always like nothing in the world could hurt her in Bo's arms.

Bo ran her tongue over her lips and then flicked her dark eyes at the large observation windows and the door that Lauren had let slip closed behind them.

"I'll get the blinds, you lock the door and then I'll tell you all about them." She made Lauren the offer.

"Bo! This is my lab." Lauren made the vague objection.

"Anything toxic? Noxious or dangerous? Does the Ash have live feed because I am not ready for Hale to see that." Bo teased.

"No, he does not, that I know of." Lauren looked to the ceiling momentarily and then shook her head. "And anything dangerous is put away, I know you." She teased a little herself.

"So..." Bo moved back to the window and deliberately let the horizontal blinds on the first section drop with a loud noise, her smirk more wide and seductive. "Lock the door Doctor." She purred, twisting the small stick that shifted the small strips of white plastic flat, obscuring anyone outside from seeing in.

Lauren knew that the Succubus would have easily seen the hard shiver of pleasure that went through her body before she turned and slid the manual bolt lock on the door closed. Then walking with a slight swagger, Bo moved to lower and close the blind on the last window so they had complete privacy before she turned and moved back to within arms reach of her lover.

"You know I've always wanted to see you in just your lab coat." Bo reached out and drew her finger down over the folded down collar of the white overcoat. "No shirt, no oh so smart pants, no desperately sexy underwear, just skin and lab coat." She purred bringing her other hand up to run over the collar at the other side of Lauren's throat, her eyes dancing as she looked between the blonde's eyes and all over her body. Unconsciously she licked her lips between phrases as the idea and thought turned her on even more.

"Then as this is my lab..." Lauren smiled as a sudden idea cleared in her mind, her long day suddenly far behind her when presented by her super charged lover. "I need you to turn around, put your hands on the table, close your eyes and don't turn around." She gave the simple instruction in her doctor's voice without even realizing it.

"Yes Doctor." Bo literally shivered as she slid her hands down Lauren's collar deliberately letting them trail down over the slight curve of Lauren's breasts before she stepped back, turned and put her hands flat on the table behind her. Her long eyelashes drawing slowly down as her eyes closed, fluttering slightly as she totally closed her eyes and followed her lover's instruction.

Lauren purposely didn't speak again, as she first peeled off her lab coat and then began to take her clothes off. She made sure she did so making some subtle noises to indicate what article of clothing she was on and by the time she peeled off her underwear and bra, she could tell that her lover's acute sexual senses were on overload without any visual stimulation.

"Now, why on earth do you think just a lab coat would be sexy?" Lauren questioned as she finally slid the coat back on and did up the three poppers which did little to close it over her body.

"Why? Because it's so you." Bo had a hard time not lifting her hands off the table or opening her eyes when she answered as it was obvious in her minds eye the succubus was picturing her lover in just her lab coat.

"I noticed the first time I examined you that you were good at following my directions... I guess I can attribute that to the lab coat." Lauren teased her voice deep as she moved closer up behind the brunette and reached to run both of her hands down from the brunette's shoulders over her arms. The move made Bo give out a low moan as she shivered hard.

"It is a uniform, I'm not usually good with uniforms but with you everything is different." She made the admission, letting her breath come quickly through her open mouth.

"It's the same for me... turn around." Lauren timed her words so that she had pulled back her body, making it so that when the succubus did so she would get to see exactly what she had wanted to see. Just the blonde, in the lab coat, nothing extra. She just hoped that the reality would live up to the fantasy.

The fact that Lauren probably didn't feel anything solid again until her back landed with a jolt on the thick mattress of the examination table, that had itself been pushed hard against the far wall of the room from the force of their landing, probably answered any doubt she had in her mind as to whether or not the 'reveal' had had the desired effect.

Bo had literally picked the blonde up, carrying her over to and dropping her on the bed, straddling her instantly. The momentum of their bodies sent the wheeled bed hard sideways so that slid forwards until it hit the wall.

The succubus' hands ripped open the three poppers of the lab coat the same second, which allowed her access to press her mouth onto whatever skin was closest as her legs struggled slightly to pin the blonde exactly how she wanted her on the slim surface. Their hot, excited bodies instantly flaring against one another as Bo began to prove just how much she liked Lauren in just a lab coat.

-x-

"Good morning."

Kenzi rolled onto her side with a groan at the sound of the words. She had a slight headache but one that would felt like it would probably go away if she just bit the bullet and got up rather than laid in bed and ignored it. She was about to return the greeting to Bo when her sleepy brain filled in the fact that it wasn't the succubus who had spoken to her. Blinking open still blurry eyes Kenzi looked at and immediately recognized the red head that was sat beside the medical bed smiling at her.

"Hi." Kenzi said the small word, her mind filtering through all the disjointed images it had of this woman. "I hope I wasn't drooling." She gave a soft smile.

"You weren't." Thistle gave a soft shake of her head and returned the gentle smile, though unlike Kenzi's the Harvester's wasn't unsure, it was just soft. "You need some vitamin C, it will help your head." She pushed up from the small stool she was sat on and crossed to the bar, taking long confident strides as if she knew exactly where to look for what she wanted. She opened up one of the bar fridges and took out a bottle of orange juice and brought it back over, twisting it open as she sat down. "Here." She offered it to Kenzi immediately.

"Thank you." Kenzi took it, a part of her more than surprised to realize that Thistle was such a caring and involved with humans type of Fae. "Um..." She took a long sip hoping it would indeed help her head. "I'm sorry about yesterday, I'm guessing your demon dog narced on me."

"Barghest." Thistle corrected softly. "Would it help if I told you his name?" Her smile quirked a little brighter.

"Totally." Kenzi made the easy admission drinking more juice.

"I think that's sarcasm, not many people warm to them even if I were to tell you his name was Nibbles or something else equally benign." The Harvester looked down as she chuckled slightly. "It's not by the way."

"Actually one thing I've learned about being a human trying to deal with the weirdness of Fae is information." Kenzi was honest. "And if his name was Nibbles, it would say more about you then him." She did take a playful jab at the supernatural redhead.

"Unfortunately I wasn't born in a time that saw Nibbles utilized as it is today, it would have swayed my choice for sure." Thistle laughed softly. "It is good to see you more bright and alive Kenzi." She added to her sentence with a softer nod. "You were very sick when I saw you last."

"Bo explained everything to me a little, I understand that I have you to thank for getting that thing out of me." Kenzi looked at her more seriously as well. "Thank you, for everything. She hinted at how dangerous it is for you."

"Did she also tell you that this is what I do, what I live for?" Thistle shook her head slightly. "Your thanks mean a great deal to me because they come from your living lips Kenzi, they mean I succeeded." Without foreshadowing or warning Thistle reached out and cupped Kenzi's cheek with her hand. "I need no more reward than that, no matter what the danger to myself."

Kenzi was stalled for a moment as she tried to consolidate her thoughts and her intrinsic feelings about the Fae in front of her.

"You're not like other Fae." She whispered reaching up to put her bandaged hand over Thistle's. "You're like Bo, that's awesome."

Thistle openly laughed, the noise bright and surprisingly uplifting in the quiet bar.

"Well thank you, I think." Thistle carefully extracted her hand and brought it back to her lap. "And you are not your average human either, you are incredibly strong and brave."

"Now who's being sarcastic. I took on the Norn and got possessed by a Ghoul, which I still don't fully understand but from the look on Bo's face I don't know if I ever want too." Kenzi made the honest appraisal.

"There is time to understand if you want too, there are those around you that have all the answers." Thistle shrugged her strong shoulders and then breathed out. "But knowledge is not always a gift." She pointed out softly. "I have no doubt your good friend Bo told you all that she thought you needed to know and for now I would trust her judgement." The redhead paused for a moment and then frowned ever so slightly. "Did she explain to you that this is not all finished? That there is more I need to do?"

"Yes." Kenzi gave a serious nod. "She told me you still have to seal the wound in my hand, that it's the reason I can't leave the protection of the Dal." She moved her other hand to rub over the bandage. "Will it hurt?" She asked the slightly wussy question.

"Unfortunately the answer to that question is yes." Thistle frowned more. "I need to forge a seal that will close your entire being, uniting it to itself again, rather like reforging a chain that has been broken, I have to make you one again." She looked at Kenzi to see if she was in any way understanding. "Like with my chain analogy, the process is more like a weld than a traditional healing."

"I was afraid that was going to be your answer." Kenzi gave her a lopsided frown. "But it's okay, Bo told me you're the one to do this, so if that's how it has to be done so I can never go through this again, I'll deal."

"Did she tell you how she came by the metal from which I will make the seal?" The hint of a smile graced Thistle's lips.

"No, I didn't know you needed metal to do it." Kenzi was honest, intrigued by the specific question. "Where did she get it?"

"Your friend Lauren, it used to be her slave pendant." Thistle hoped this brought the young woman the pleasure she suspected it would.

"I love it." Kenzi couldn't contain her grin. "The slave pendant I'm going to make redundant when I finish my investigation to get her her freedom. It's so Lion King."

"I wanted to ask you something, about the seal." Thistle was more than happy when indeed Kenzi did seem happy with the idea.

"Shoot, this is your show." Kenzi sat up a little more, the orange juice actually having helped or maybe it was just knowing that the person who could end this nightmare was back.

"The mark it leaves will of course be permanent, like a tattoo only..." Thistle paused for a moment as if searching for what might be the right word. "Sparkly?" She offered looking at Kenzi to see if this was a suitable choice.

"A sparkly tattoo? Again I say awesome." The young woman was indeed intrigued and pleased by the idea.

"Do you have a preference in design?" Thistle asked the question she had been wanting too. "I have already created the seal itself, in that there can be no choice, but the design in its entirety must cover the area effected by the initial contact."

"I'm guessing you can see that with your super vision?" Kenzi checked.

"Yes." Thistle again actually chuckled under her breath and reached into the poncho like top she was wearing and pulled out a roll of parchment. On it, sketched out in charcoal, was Kenzi's hand and lower arm, both the back and then the front in turn. A small dime sized 'design' was drawn in to correspond to the what Kenzi figured was the wound in her hand but the rest of her skin was blank. Minus a very faint series of dotted lines drawn up across both arms about five inches up from the wrist, clearly signifying that the taint hadn't gone any higher than this. "This is your template." She smiled as she handed Kenzi the parchment. "I have others." She added. "So be creative."

"Well I have a sorta Gothic industrial vibe going on most of the time." Kenzi stared at the page and then smiled at Thistle. "You're going to help me right?" She questioned not about to let the woman slink back off to wherever she went when she disappeared.

"If you'd like me too, I would have thought the internet would be more use to you than a nine hundred year old Harvester but..." The redhead gave a bright smile, clearly touched by the request.

"The internet vs. a 900 year old harvester with a barghest named Nibbles? No contest." Kenzi gave a hearty laugh. "Now what do you think to making it look like I have sparkly brass knuckles on all the time?"

-x-

"Bo... Bo you have to get up." Lauren blinked open her eyes and though her left leg was numb and her shoulder felt a little 'sparkly' neither of those things were what were alarming her the most. What was, were the distinct sounds of 'activity' in the lab beyond the locked door of the observation room that she had just seconds before woken up in. "BO!" She hissed the succubus' name as loudly as she dared and tried to pry her lover's hand off her breast.

"But I'm tired..." Bo grumbled starting to come awake and it was only as she realized that she was lying on cold linoleum tiling that her eyes snapped open. "We're still in your lab." The realization hit her. "I'm sorry..." She started to extract herself from the blonde and tried to orient her still sluggish body and sleep shrouded mind.

"You're tired and I can't feel my leg." Lauren slid across the cold floor trying hard not to 'squeak' as her warm skin wanted to stick in places on the chilly tile.

"Floor is cold." Bo warned her a moment too late as she tried to find articles of their clothing, bringing the first few pieces over to Lauren. "Clothes, I found your clothes." She had a certain amount of pride in her accomplishment. "They can find me naked... we can... we can say you were giving me a check up." Her brain tried to think. Of course it didn't dawn on her that a 6am check up appointment wasn't usual for the doctor, especially an unscheduled one.

"I can't wear those." Lauren shook her head. "Not only because everyone saw me in them less than eight hours ago, most Fae have advanced senses of smell." She blinked at Bo and pulled open a low cupboard. "And really a 6 am body check? With you carrying a pass that probably ran out at 5." The blonde pulled out a pair of scrubs, quickly assessing whether they would be suitable. "Oh God I can't believe I have to wear scrubs without underwear all day, if I have to be in any long meetings with any Fae with highly effecting olfactory organs, I will hate you this evening."

"I'll bring you clothes back asap." Bo vowed as she struggled into her bunched up leather pants that she found stuck under the wheel of the examination table somehow, probably when they'd moved their 'examination' to the floor.

"You ripped my lab coat!" Lauren suddenly exclaimed as she held up her lab coat and revealed that indeed it looked as 'ravaged' as Lauren currently did. "Bo!" She blinked as she draped it on the examination table and pulled on the scrub bottoms still staring at the ruined coat.

"I'm sorry, grab another one from the drawer." Bo urged her stuffing Lauren's underwear into her jacket pocket with her own having decided there was no point struggling them on. "I will fix it myself, I got an A in my freshman home economics class in high school."

"Bo these are Dr. Lewis specific lab coats." Lauren slid the closures down on the scrubs and looked at her lover, but couldn't actually look mad. She suddenly stopped all action and just leaned against the table. "And you dented the wall." She put her head down a little as she chuckled, catching sight of the dent in the dry wall where the main rail of the exam bed had been driven into it.

"I think this also might have gotten broke?" Bo looked sheepishly guilty as she held up a metal handle that clearly belonged on something somewhere but she had found it nest to one of her discarded boots.

"That's..." Lauren crossed quickly to Bo but stopped and reached out as if to pluck the small handle out of Bo's hand, but instead she traced her finger tip down Bo's cheek. "Thank you." She gave a typical eye roll. "For my pick me up." She gazed into her lover's eyes.

"Thank you for loving me." Bo said softly and then leaned in to kiss her, suddenly realizing she didn't care who was outside. All she cared about was Lauren.

-x-


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faery Tale", the fourth story in an AU plot line.

Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)

**No Faete But What We Make: Chapter Six**

**By: The Rainbowwriters**

When Bo had carefully unlocked the door to the Dal and let herself in, she'd been expecting that her best friend would still be star fished in her bed asleep but the scene that met her was very different. The first thing that struck her was that Kenzi was not only up at six thirty in the morning but she was pleasant and bright, not the brunette's usual response to the early hour. The second was that she was scooted over into one half of the bed and beside her was perched the redheaded Harvester that Bo had been impatiently waiting to return. The third thing, that she didn't see until she moved silently over closer to the bed, was that they were drawing in charcoal on a wide sheet of parchment.

"I hope you didn't keep her up all night drawing inappropriate comics." Bo announced her arrival, mostly just to introduce herself into the cozy situation. She guessed that Thistle had probably tuned into her as the Harvester's body language stayed relaxed and a Fae hunted like her for almost a century must have built up extra super senses. Of course she knew that Kenzi was libel to come up with any number of opening lines to respond to her. After all she had been missing all night, looked as post sex fest dishevelled with Lauren as she ever could and wasn't carrying anything yummy for her bestie from the outside world.

Red eyes came up slowly from the parchment as blue eyes quickly darted from it to look at her best friend.

"Look who's back." The young human announced with a broad smile beckoning the succubus ever closer with a quick series of waves. "Rough night?" She grinned more when Bo came closer, a sparkle in her eyes. For her part the Harvester remained silent just greeting Bo with a silent nod and the hint of a smile.

"I couldn't sleep." Bo gave the somewhat cryptic reply to her best friend as she moved up to the side of the bed, looking at the parchment and the drawings of Kenzi's arms now with overlying 'tattoo' guidelines for the Harvester. "But the good Doctor helped me out." She reached out gripping Kenzi's bad hand momentarily almost like a mini hug before she looked at Thistle. "I'm glad you're back." She said honestly. "Is this to get things sealed up?" She motioned to the drawing, for the first time taking a real look at it.

"Yes, I thought it would be good to involve Kenzi in the design of the seal since it will be hers for the rest of her life." Thistle nodded at the succubus' comment. "My pet made me aware of our friend's progress." She added glancing briefly at Kenzi with a soft smile. "She is tenacious."

"That's one of the reasons I love her." Bo couldn't help the beaming proud smile that spread across her face. "I like it though... brass knuckles? And you call some of my outfits butch?" She teased.

"It's an outward show of my inner strength." Kenzi puffed out her chest slightly.

"Don't worry, I like it." Bo reached up and ruffled dark sleep tossed hair. "So all of this is going to be made out of the iridium?" She looked to Thistle.

"In a sense yes." Thistle nodded. "In appearance at least." She clarified her answer slightly. "The seal will take some time to perform and will be quite painful, I have talked to Kenzi at some length about this." She added looking at Bo particularly. "I suggested that it may be for the best if you were not present during the ceremony, your dear friend was not so certain." Red eyes glanced at Kenzi.

"I was wondering about that... if I was here, I could try to help with the pain, if it's going to be that bad." Bo gave a little shrug, not sure how likely Thistle or even Kenzi would be to agreeing with this. "A little sway might take your mind off of it."

It was Kenzi's eyes that first went a little wide with Bo's suggestion.

"Er Bo-Bo, I'm not sure I'm totally down with that. I mean not that I don't appreciate the offer or anything but..." She gave a slight frown. "It would probably feel a little, no make that a whole lot icky."

Bo was about to open her mouth to counter Kenzi's objection when Thistle cut her off.

"Actually Succu... Bo." She corrected herself. "Adding any other kind of magical or mystical input during the operation would not be wise or recommended." She shook her head softly. "Though your desire to help your friend is more than commendable." She gave a soft nod.

"I just wanted to keep you from feeling pain." Bo pointed out softly to Kenzi but she did understand and had feared that Thistle's response would revolve around her being more of an interference than a help. "Can Lauren be here for it? To monitor all the other things she can monitor? Maybe give her something to help with the pain after your done?"

"I was about to suggest that your lover be present for the ceremony, to both support Kenzi and to monitor as you suggested. She can also provide her with some medications prior to the sealing, I will do my best to provide the best environment I can to keep Kenzi comfortable at all times." She added her own proviso. "In the past when I have had to do this I recommend someone close like a mother, or sister be present, preferably human." She underlined softly.

"Fae interfere in general." Bo gave another nod like she understood. "So when is this tattoo party going to be happening?" She felt a icy edge of anticipation race up her spine suddenly. Even though she'd been wanting this very thing to happen for days now, to know that Kenzi was completely safe, faced now with the idea of her best friend having to go through a traumatic painful sealing without her made her antsy.

"Well I want to do my own assessment of Kenzi, and it will take some time to prepare all that is needed, but if everything is in order I should think by the weekend at the latest." Thistle outlined her emerging timetable.

"Prep time is good, I know Lauren will want to do a full work up on you as well to make sure you're as physically ready as you can be." Bo put her hand on Kenzi's shoulder. "Are you two okay for a bit then while I grab a shower?" She smiled again, remembering Lauren's rant about Fae with acute senses of smell. The worry that Thistle might be one of those hitting her suddenly. Kenzi might be used to the post sex smell of her best friend, but the Harvester shouldn't be expected to deal with it.

"Yeah, we're still trying to sort out the part that's going up my forearm. Do I look more like a vine or a Celtic knot work kind of girl?" Kenzi smiled at her best friend, knowing later she was going to get a barrage of questions about what Thistle had told her.

"Vine." Bo gave a soft laugh and began to move off out of the bar.

"She's freaking out." Kenzi commented as soon as her bestie was out of the room. "She's trying to hide it but she hates anything she can't fight herself with her big bad succubus mojo." She made the admission. "Having Lauren here was a great suggestion though, you're better at reading her than most."

"Her attachment to you is very deep, very true." Thistle frowned slightly, her eyes still on the door that Bo had left by. "As is the one she shares with the doctor, I took a logical guess and honestly hoped for the best." A slim smile graced the Harvester's lips. "I should however have checked on your own feelings for the other human we are discussing." She looked back at Kenzi for a moment, her usually fiery eyes burning a little dimmer, almost a more 'normal' colour. "Would having Dr. Lewis with you during this time make you feel more comforted or less so?"

"Um..." Kenzi actually took a moment to think about it and then reached down digging into the tent made by her feet in the hospital tuck in corners of the blanket. When her hand emerged she wiggled the small ever present kangaroo stuffy Lauren had gotten her, so long ago it seemed now. "This is Mr. Kickers, say hello Mr. Kickers." She made him do a little more of a wiggle dance. "Lauren got him for me, I'm cool with Lauren being here. We got off to a rough start Dr. Hotpants and I, but we're good now. From what Bo told me Lauren did a lot for me during all this, she..." The young woman's words drifted off and her brow knotted into a furrow. "Lauren got me Mr. Kickers after Hale's coronation party, I had this wicked evil hangover... it was starting even then wasn't it? That thing was taking me over?"

Thistle watched for a moment as Kenzi obviously wrestled a little with the memory and the time line of events.

"Kenzi it began the moment after you were exposed." The Harvester said, her tone low but gentle. "It would have progressed rather like a sickness, the symptoms minor to begin with, probably manifesting as you suggested in physical ways, like the feelings of general illness with no specific cause." She made sure to keep her eyes on Kenzi as she explained a little more. "In olden times often lives were lost in the early stages of possession because the victims were not surrounded by ones who could love them, take care of them as you obviously were." Somewhat unexpectedly the Harvester reached out and ran a hand over the top of the small kangaroo's head. "You are both a very unlucky and yet lucky young woman Kenzi, to have been touched by something so... so dark, so devastating and yet to have come out of it so bright."

"I don't remember most of it." Kenzi shook her head. "But..." She put her hand up to her collarbone. "It's like I can feel the memory of it in here somewhere, of being lost and out of control."

The red head looked at Kenzi for a moment.

"I can take those things away Kenzi, those memories, the patches that you have." The eyes that looked at her burned just a little brighter.

"I don't know if I want to lose them." Kenzi shook her head her voice small. "I mean... Bo said there were things, I didn't want to know and I believe her but I don't want to totally forget all of this. The reason I got this Ghoul spilt on me is because I had to get something back for a friend, I didn't know this could be the consequence but I was willing to take the chance. I deserve some sort of reminder other than a pretty tattoo."

"And that is why I didn't just take them during the Harvest." Thistle nodded as Kenzi went through her reasoning. "May I ask was what you got for your friend worth the risk you took, as unknowing as it may have been?"

"You know the wolfman?" Kenzi questioned and saw Thistle give a nod that she was familiar with him. "Ages ago Bo had a beat down fight with her crazy evil Mom, and he went to the Norn thinking he was trading away his wolf to give Bo strength enough to beat Aife. When the agreement was made the Norn didn't take his wolf, but the thing he really valued the most, his love for Bo." She let the statement stand to see what Thistle would say.

"A deal with the Norn is never quite the thing you expect it to be." The Harvester frowned ever so slightly. "And you went to the Norn to retrieve this love? Even though the succubus loves another? Or is this the shaky start you spoke of before. Is it that you believe your friend should be with this wolf and not the human doctor?"

"I used to believe that, it's who I'd have chosen." Kenzi tried to explain the origins of her selfish reasoning. "But I realized even before we beat the Garuda, Dyson needed to be whole again for Dyson, not for Bo and Bo needs to pick who her heart wants her to pick not who I, the totally straight girl, want her to pick." She gave a soft smile. "And so you know... I went after the Norn's tree with a chainsaw until she gave me his love back. The ghoul drool spilt on me by accident but the old bat was loving it from the get go."

"Well given the nature of what was spilled I am not surprised." Thistle was honest in her reply. "Your friends fought long and hard for you during the Harvest did the succubus tell you that?" Red eyes once again glanced over to the door to the back rooms.

"No, she didn't mention anything about The Harvest..." Kenzi couldn't help but feel a shiver at the two words. "She just said you were the only fae who could do what you did, strip the ghoul out of me. She didn't really tell me how you did it."

"Well technically any of my kin could have done it." Thistle smiled a little. "My son was actually here as well, though not present during the harvest." She made the small distinction. "But yes only a harvester could have split your essence from that of the Ghoul and successfully returned yours to your body." She nodded a little at Bo's summary of the events.

"But everyone helped you?" Kenzi brought Thistle back to her original point, holding Mr. Kickers and playing with his tail.

"Even the old king." Thistle nodded trying not to infuse her voice with venom.

"I bet it was crazy, all the shit you Fae do is usually crazy." Kenzi gave her a weak smile sensing that there was a lot more to the Harvester's history with the Blood King then her mind could wrap around right now. Pushing down her curiosity she pulled the parchment closer again. "So, it just struck me... I need something in this tattoo to say thank you to you."

Thistle shook her head.

"Unfortunately you will wear my mark forever now Kenzi." A brief frown dance on Thistle brow for a moment as she reached to pick up the parchment and folded it carefully to focus the young human's attention to the pre-drawn seal on the centre of the hand. The somewhat intricate symbol that featured a large ornate scythe and an hour glass, some leaves and a beautifully filigreed owl all encapsulated in a circle of thorns. "This is my crest."

"Come on, I got that." Kenzi grinned at her. "I meant more you... you. I could say we put a thistle flower in it, but isn't that technically a weed?" She grinned more.

"Never say that in Scotland." A broad smile spread across the Harvester's face.

"Cause I look like I spend a lot of time in Scotland." Kenzi joked more. "I have it..." She pulled the parchment closer and began to try and show what she was thinking.

-x-

It was much later when in the day when the relative peace that had settled in the Dal was broken again, though it had taken some time for a calm to settle into the tavern. The reason for the air of discontentment was mainly because Trick hadn't been prepared to come out and start his morning ritual to find the Harvester sitting in the bar already chatting to his granddaughter and Kenzi.

It was more than obvious to Kenzi, over the hours that followed just how uncomfortable the Harvester made the old Fae. The young human was used to Trick being so very confident and self assured in everything he did, but just with Thistle present he seemed to be a little more wary, more withdrawn. If she was honest it made the usual brash and confident woman a little wary herself, after all if Trick was so off put by the other Fae, didn't that suggest there was something dangerous, or at least, unpredictable about her? Something that maybe Bo was missing because well Bo knew about as much about Fae history and lore as she did about astrophysics.

As time had gone on though Thistle had set up her 'work' corner and Bo had explained to Kenzi that it was was pretty much what the Harvester had done the first time she had been there at the Dal for an extended period of time. She had moved tables to corner herself in and had covered them with a variety of urns and burners, Not to mention other equipment that truly looked like it should be in a blacksmith's shop rather than a bar, though it was all miniature, looking to be at least less half the size it 'should' have been to be useful to a real blacksmith.

The Harvester getting comfortable had had the knock on effect that Trick had relaxed too. He had gone about the bar doing his own thing, giving her a wide birth at all times, but being strangely quiet still as he did his best to keep the tension down. For her part Bo had been better when she had come back from her shower, obviously having talked through a few things to herself while there. She had just slipped into normal 'Bo' like activities, even sitting down to play a few rounds of robot hookers with Kenzi before insisting the younger woman settle down for a nap, considering how early she had been up.

The succubus had then gone out, a quick follow up visit to a case she was thinking of taking on, and that had left just Trick, Kenzi and Thistle in the Dal. The three of them having settled into an oddly relaxed coexistence, that was until the door had opened.

Kenzi who had been flicking though magazines peered around the edge of her bed, expecting it to be Bo, having long since been expecting her bestie to be back from the case meeting. She was therefore surprised when Dyson took long steps into the bar. She sat up with a bright smile, instantly slightly more energized when behind the tall wolf someone she hadn't seen for what seemed like an eternity stepped into view.

The handsome Siren was carrying a large bouquet of white and pink roses as he stepped through over the threshold of the Dal, his free hand coming up to remove the typically 'Hale' hat that he was wearing in greeting to Trick, who was smiling brightly at The Ash as the door closed behind him.

"There he is, finally come to visit the sick. Don't tell me you've been busy or something." Kenzi called to the Siren and held out her arms before he had even been able to come across the bar.

"Oh L'il momma." Hale was beaming as he crossed the room quickly and pulled her into his arm, sandwiching the flowers between them briefly. "You wouldn't believe how busy I have been." He shook his head as he eased back and then shook the bouquet to plump it out a little and handed it to Kenzi. "I also wanted to avoid clashing with..." His eyes came up briefly to glance at the figure who was in the far corner of the room working away diligently. "But I see my timing is a little off."

"Clashing with who? I see no one, nothing your Ashness needs to be concerned with. That's my cousin Ginger, she's making brownies." Kenzi threw a grin over to Thistle whose head had come up upon realization of who was in the bar, clearly double checking that there wasn't a problem. When she saw that there wasn't, her head lowered as she went back to her work. "These are nice, very nice, floral shop job, you charmer." She inspected the flowers gleefully and reached out to play with his tie. "Really though, I'm glad to see you. I thought maybe I did something while I wasn't myself to make you hate me."

"Not a chance." Hale shook his head slowly, still smiling brightly. "It's good to see you." He added every word filled with genuine enthusiastic honesty. "You had me scared." He admitted looking her over a few times before moving forward to pull her into a hug a second time. "Damn girl we need to feed you." He eased back. "You're skin and bones."

"Mmmm those little pillow things filled with green stuff at your coronation wouldn't go astray if you could arrange some to arrive." Kenzi gave him a direction to follow, hugging him back just as enthusiastically.

"Just as many as you can eat." Hale seemed more than happy to be involved in anyway. "Seriously girl it is so good to see you." The siren couldn't help but repeat the phrase as he sat down on the bar stool that Dyson moved to put next to Kenzi's bed for him.

"Bo's filled me in a little bit about how close I came to not being seen again." Kenzi put the flowers down on the blanket at the bottom of the bed. "So I'm glad you get the chance to see me too and thank you, for all the..." She put her finger to the side of her nose and gave a long wink. "Behind the scenes stuff you're doing for me."

"Well like I said you and other things have been keeping me busy." Hale leaned back a little with a short laugh as he straightened out the crease in his smart suit pants. "But I'm getting the hang of this Ash thing now." He added, brushing off his knee. "Just try not to do any more stuff say, this month?"

"You know I can't promise that." Kenzi teased him. "As soon as I'm outta here I have your investigation to run, that's bound to cause you trouble." She made the subtle reminder that she still intended on doing her job.

"Believe me with no pressure, the sooner you get back on that, the better." Hale nodded his head with a smile.

"Now really, tell me how the job is going?" Kenzi brought the top of the bed up so she could lean more upright and talk to him.

Dyson had hung around for a while smiling to himself at the obvious mutual sense of happiness that Hale's surprise visit had brought before he eased subtly away to lean his back against the bar where Trick was busy making Hale a cup of his favourite tea.

"When did the Harvester come back?" He asked, his voice hushed, his head coming to turn away from them all so that only Trick could see and hear him.

"This morning." The Blood King replied pausing in what he was doing to pass the wolf a beer.

"Officially I'm doing the Ash's business I shouldn't." Dyson smiled as he picked up the bottle and took a long drink. "But considering my last two days I'll take it." He put it down on the bar with a hard sigh.

"How is your new partner?" There was a hint of a smile on the Blood King's face as he asked the question of his old friend.

"She's going to take some getting used to that's for sure." The wolf was honest as he took another swig of beer and briefly thought about the blonde who had just an hour before teased him mercilessly about being an 'Ash's boy' when he had been summoned to the compound. "The fact that the Dal is out of commission for a while might not be such a bad thing, it means that any meeting between her and Bo might be delayed for some time, because I don't see that going smoothly." He added with an honest eyebrow arch.

"Lived up to her write up then?" Trick asked, having been privy to the paperwork Dyson had been given on the Harpy before the new detective had arrived.

"You could say that." Dyson's let his eyes widen briefly as he took another drink and glanced over towards Hale and Kenzi, who were chatting animatedly which made him smile. "I should have called but the Ash wanted to come over as soon as he could, we're actually on our way somewhere, he thought the brief stop over wouldn't catch anyone's unnecessary attention." He explained the reason they had just appeared. "Though I probably wouldn't have agreed to the visit if I'd have know your guest was back."

Trick raised his eyebrow in response and breathed out with obvious restraint.

"I think we both have to admit our Siren friend has filled the shoes asked of him rather well." Trick gave Hale the somewhat surprising compliment. "The fact that the Harvester is actually present will not change anything."

"That's true." Dyson nodded knowing that the older man was right. Whether the Harvester was right under his nose or just in his county, Hale's knowledge of her presence at all was that would be needed to bring his actions under question. Yet again, he'd had the pleasure of working under a number of Ash's and he had seen more than one of them break fundamental laws and writs. "How is Bo doing? Any more relaxed now that Thistle has returned."

"No." Trick was honest. "In fact she seemed worse." The succubus' grandfather was honest. "Though I haven't been able to ask why, like the Bo we know and love, she managed to slip out on an 'important mission' before the opportunity to talk arose." The Blood King gave a soft knowing smile.

"Avoiding the issue." The wolf gave a nod. "I'm willing to guess the desire to have this be over with has been suddenly replaced by the reality that the next step is going to be a hard one for Kenzi. She won't have the liberty of being mostly unconscious while the sealing is performed."

"And she won't have her team of Fae around her, I think possibly Bo found that small fact out." Trick made the logical leap.

"Kenzi is strong, she will endure whatever she must." Dyson said the words with intense confidence.

"And how do you feel about the fact that you will not be able to stand with her to help her face the pain that she must through it?" Trick frowned slightly the wolf.

"Impotent." Dyson admitted the fact with a sigh. "Kenzi is only facing this because of what she did to help me become whole again,..." He hesitated turning fully to look at the bartender his voice dropping. "She is a human Trick and still she took on the Norn? If that cannot inspire my pack loyalty to her, I don't know what could." He finally made the serious admission.

"And with that in mind, knowing and understanding what you do about what is going to happen do you think Bo should understand what we do about the ceremony?" The older Fae's brow furrowed deeply as he leaned on his elbows and closed some of the distance between them.

"My initial reaction is no." Dyson made the honest statement to show Trick he did understand the issue. "But if we don't, she will never forgive any of us for not warning her, giving her the chance to cherish the moments before the sealing. Cherish the time we can guarantee she has left with Kenzi before she is once again in the hands of the Harvester."

Trick sighed again still obviously unsettled on the matter.

"And what of Kenzi herself?" He added, his voice sadder this time as the young woman's bright laughter lit up the Dal for a moment almost mocking the two of them and their conversation.

"No." This time the wolf's answer was more definite. "If the sealing is successful then she will be here to celebrate with us, if it is not... she will be at least spared our grief. She needs all the emotional strength she can have to face this, not fear and worry."

"With every decision made there is always a consequence, good or bad." Trick seemed to nod his agreement to the wolf's assessment, finally finishing Hale's tea and making a move to bring it over to him.

-x-


End file.
